


The Brother in My Arms

by terma_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Alternate Universe, Incest, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1999-08-01
Updated: 1999-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:55:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 53,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26536156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terma_archivist/pseuds/terma_archivist
Summary: This is an A.U. story featuring Mulder and Krycek along with a few other X-files characters. The story takes place in the year 2001—and on the premise that an early invasion has already happened, with disastrous results. A virus released by the aliens has backfired and ended up killing most of the earths' population instead of enslaving it. However, there are still a few survivors here and there. Also, a civil war being fought between the rebel shape-shifters/faceless ones and the small, intelligent greys. For now, the aliens are for the most part, ignoring the surviving humans as they have their hands full with fighting. Mulder, Skinner, Scully and the LGM along with some others have all survived the deadly virus and now live below the FBI building. Skinner is, by default in charge of the small group of people living in the shelter. Alex Krycek was caught and taken captive by the shape shifters while trying to steal the E.B.E. For the last year, he has been the victim of many painful experiments that the aliens performed on him. One of which resulted in his left arm being grown back, in a very painful process that took an entire year to complete.
Relationships: Alex Krycek/Fox Mulder
Collections: TER/MA





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alicettlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [TER/MA](https://fanlore.org/wiki/TER/MA) and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2019. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [the TER/MA collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/terma/profile).  
> Contains violence and suggestive language/ depiction of mild sexuality between men. If this is not for you then, please, turn back now. You have been warned. Any flames... will be used to start my bar-be-que. All sincere criticism welcomed. SPOILERS: Everything up to season six's finale—'The end' and the movie. Fox Mulder can read others thoughts in this, and can read them clearly. NOTES: Please just assume that the group living in the bomb shelter has a steady supply of food, water and power. I didn't want to get too technical with explanations. Also please assume that Fox and Samantha full are brother and sister not half as it goes well with my story line. Please be reminded that Fox Mulder can read others thoughts in this, and can read them clearly. This is a work of fiction, no profit of any kind was made in writing this. This body of work has been beta'd only by me... so any and all mistakes are just that... mistakes and I am sorry for them...

Go to notes and disclaimers **Part I**

  
_"Hear this Agent Mulder. Listen very carefully, because what I'm telling you is deadly serious. There is a war raging and unless you pull your head out of the sand, you and I and about five billion other people are going to go the way of the dinosaur."_

Alex Krycek—1998. 

  
"I was sent by a man, a man who knows as I do that resistance is in our grasp."

Alex Krycek—1998. 

"Now that we're established," Walter Skinner said to the people sitting around the large table. "We have to find a way to eliminate the invaders globally. We can't be sure if anyone else has survived. But if we are to live our selves, then we must take matters into our own hands and assume that we are the only ones." He noted the pained expression that passed briefly over Dana Scully's face. Her mother had not been heard from since before the invasion. "Therefore, " Skinner said, "We need to come up with a plan that can work here at home, then world wide." He took a sip of his coffee and said "Mulder" as he sat. 

Fox Mulder stood up and walked to the head of the table. "I have it on good information that there is a large rebel ship hidden in Baltimore." He glanced quickly at the three lone gunmen seated around the table. They were of course, the source of his _good information_.   
"I think we need to send in a team in and do a little reconnaissance work. We should check the ship out, just to find out what, if anything, there is to see on board. Maybe there's something on it that might help us." 

"What are you looking for?" Asked Kim, Skinners former secretary. 

Mulder looked at her directly and replied, "I'm hoping to find either the virus in its pure form or a mutated version of it. Anything that might help us. You see..." He explained, "Scully and I know from experience, " 

Scully blanched at the word experience. Mulder didn't notice but Skinner did.

"That most of the aliens are connected to their mother ship by a large... er... umbilicus for lack of a better word. If we introduce a virus of our own, say a derivative of the original cure, then I think we might just have a real good shot at wiping them out. Maybe we will find the original vaccine or maybe we will find something else to lead us to... "

"You think those _hostiles_ are going to have a substance that can kill them all just laying around?" Asked Bill Waters, a former agent with the FBI. He snorted his disbelief and then said skeptically, "Get real Mulder!" 

Mulder frowned at Waters briefly. "We had the small pox virus bottled up and sitting at the CDC in Atlanta didn't we?" He said reasonably. "Maybe they would keep the vaccine for the same reasons we hung onto the small pox." He picked up his coffee mug that was full of water and drank. "That's not the point anyway." 

"What is the point?" Waters asked. 

"My point is let's just go in and check it out. We might find something, we might not, but at least it's a place to start." 

Skinner stood as Mulder took his seat between Scully and Frohicke. 

"I think we should send a team in. Unless anyone else has a better idea?" He looked into the faces of the seated people one by one, he saw no dissension so he said, "So were agreed. We send out a re-con squad." He looked to Mulder, "Mulder, you'll lead. It's your command. Scully, Waters and Davis will back you up." The other three agents mentioned nodded their agreement. 

In the old days, no one would have followed Mulder anywhere, let alone listen to his orders, but it was the dawn of a new era and Mulder's talk of _Aliens amongst us_ had, in the end, turned out to be true.   
Fox Mulder was just that, plain Fox Mulder. No longer was the word 'spooky' mentioned in the same sentence as his name. 

"Good. Gear up and be at the main portal in one hour." Skinner instructed. The people around the table stood and slowly filed out of the counsel room. The people who were not involved in the mission would go back to their own jobs that they performed in order to sustain life in the dark, damp shelters. From there, they would inform the others in their own work areas what was going on.

* * *

**The Rebel Ship  
Baltimore MD**

Scully pocketed three vials of an amber liquid, hoping that she had stolen the right stuff. Only tests would tell for sure though. She walked past a wall of photographs, stopped, thought for a second and then went back to look at the wall. She stood and studied several photographs that were posted to the wall. They were of a human arm in what looked to be like various stages of growth. She gave a little shiver at the thought. 

Mulder came up behind her and said into her ear, "I think I've got everything we need..."

His sudden appearance behind her made Scully start with fright. "Jesus Mulder." She said in a high voice, covering her racing heart with her left hand. "I think I just peed my pants. Don't sneak up on me while I'm standing in an alien ship." She joked. 

"Well it's a good thing were in bio-hazard suits then." Mulder quipped back cheekily. Just as he finished his sentence, a loud scream, wracked with pain and full of anguish echoed down the deserted hallway; stopping both of the agents dead in their tracks. They spun their head in the direction that the cries of pain had come from. The high pitched screams echoed continuously. 

"That's a human voice." Scully said. Concerned at what could be happening to make a person scream in such a manner. 

All of a sudden, all of the hair on Mulder's neck stood up and the skin on his forearms raised with goose bumps. He recognized the voice. He concentrated and quickly scanned the screaming man's thoughts. His suspicions were confirmed. "Come on Scully, we've got to go! Those screams belong to Alex! Hurry!" He implored as he ran out the door, not giving Scully a chance to answer him. 

"Alex?" She said to herself, "Alex who?" She pushed the question aside and followed Mulder. Who was now standing next to Bill Waters just outside the door in the hall. Agent Davis was not in the ship, but covering the main entrance for them.

"MY GOD! What's going on?" Waters said to Mulder over the loud shrieks.

"Come on. Lets go in and get him." Was all Mulder said as he ran down the deserted corridor toward theories. 

"I'm with ya Mulder." Waters replied shakily and then ran after him. 

Scully hesitated for only a second before following the men. She came to a stand still behind them; her gun already pulled and cocked. 

Both Waters and Scully stood silently, waiting to follow Mulder's lead inside. 

The screams were coming wave after wave from a behind a closed steel door. The door had a small, porthole size window in it and Mulder quickly peered through the thick, clear glass, saw what he needed to then pulled his head aside before the lone alien in the lab, could discover him.  
When Mulder had peeked inside, he had seen Alex Krycek naked and strapped down to an operating table. The Russian was screaming for all he was worth as the shape shifter ran the thin beam of a blue laser through the top layer of his epidermis of his right thigh.   
The alien was so intent on his task that he did not hear Mulder as he silently entered the room. The faceless scientist did not have time to defend himself either when Mulder pumped three bullets into his heart. As soon as the large being hit the floor, Mulder ran over and expertly stuck the steel blade of a knife that he had been carrying into the base of its neck.   
Killing _it_ silently and killing _it_ instantly.   
Noxious fumes poured out of the carcass along with a great deal of green ooze, but the vapor could not penetrate the bio-hazard suits that the trio were wearing. 

Scully wondered briefly why Krycek seemed unaffected by the airborne poison but she pushed the thought aside for the time being while she watched silently as her partner hurried over to Krycek's side. Scully was more than a little shocked by Mulder's behavior toward the Russian killer.

"Alex." He said gently, his voice not betraying to Alex that he was really frightened by all of the blood oozing from the thigh wound.   
"Scully," He said firmly, "... check his leg out. We gotta get him out of here and fast!" As he ordered his partner around, Bill Waters stood guard at the door, watching for more intruders.

Scully frowned. "Mulder." She said not making a move toward the double agent. 

Mulder did not acknowledge that he had even heard Scully speak his name.

Krycek looked up into Mulder's face, his eyes were wide with pain and he looked totally wrung out. "Mulder." He whispered weakly. "Is that really you?" 

"Yes Alex. It's me." Mulder replied. His gaze swept over the exhausted man, and what he saw turned his stomach. Both of Alex's wrists and ankles were raw and bleeding, made so by his struggles to escape the pain of the torturous shape-shifter's laser. 

"Good. Then you must be here to kill me. Please put me out of my misery Mulder." He was on the verge of passing out. "Pl... please." He said again, his voice completely worn out from screaming. 

"I'm not here to kill you Krycek, I'm here to help you." Mulder said. The familiar phrase rolling easily off of his tongue as he began to cut away the restraints. 

Alex smiled then, and Mulder stopped what he was doing to stare longingly at the young Russian. He thought that he had never seen anything so sweet as Krycek's smile at that moment. His dark green eyes peeked through his veiled lids, as if keeping them open halfway was the best that he could do. Mulder thought that under the circumstances, it probably was the best that he could do .

"You'd be happier if you just kill me." Krycek said, then his eyes rolled back into his head showing Mulder nothing but the whites. The dark fringe of the lashes slowly lowered—reminding Mulder of a theatre curtain—and Alex Krycek was mercifully rendered unconscious. 

"Alex!" Mulder shouted slapping the double agent's cheek softly despite knowing that he had no doubt passed out from the pain. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder at Scully and was genuinely surprised to see that she had not even started patching Krycek's leg, making the limp man ready for transport. "Scully?" He said simply. 

"Mulder. That's Alex Krycek on the table. Liar, murderer and betrayer of men. Are you sure you want to do this?" She said, unsettled by Mulder's attitude. 

Now it was Mulder's turn to frown at his partner. "Yes!" He replied adamantly. Still Scully made no motion to help Krycek. Frustrated by he inactivity, he said to her, "Fine! I'll do it myself then." Then he reached into one of the deep pockets on the outside of the bio-suit and pulled out a small portable first-aid kit. 

Waters, still watching the corridor hissed quietly, "Somebody hurry up and do something, we got to get out of here before more spooks show up!"

Mulder grabbed a small plastic bottle of antiseptic, that held a single dose, out of the kit and bit the top off of it. He spit the plastic stopper aside and squeezed all of the clear liquid contents directly into the bleeding wound. 

Alex thrashed a bit and moaned, but otherwise he did not wake up. 

As Mulder fumbled to find the right field dressing, Scully finally clucked her tongue and said to Mulder just as frustrated with him as he had been with her, "Fine!" She snatched the bandage from Mulder's grip and quickly covered up the wound. 

"Would you two hurry up over there." Waters said urgently. "I think E.T. knows were home!" He followed up his comments by firing his silenced gun twice. "Come on, let's go before it gets up!"

"Grab that nightie." Mulder said as he hoisted Krycek's naked form over the back of his shoulders. Scully did as Mulder asked and snatched a plain white hospital gown and a pair of matching pajama bottoms from a nearby table. Waters started firing again as he stepped into the hall to hold off the two Aliens who were approaching the lab. The three of them beat a hasty retreat out of the ship, with Waters and Scully watching both Mulder's and Krycek's back; much to Scully's chagrin.

* * *

**FBI Bomb Shelter**

Scully banged out the signal and the hidden steal door that led to the bunker opened. The guard on duty stepped aside to admit the returning team. Mulder pushed his way through and went straight to his private quarters with the still unconscious Alex over his shoulders.   
It had taken just under one full day to make their way back from the rebel ship to the shelter, and Krycek, in all that time had not woken up to a fully conscious level. Mulder managed to rouse him just enough to accept a drink of water and twice Alex came around, just barely, to relieve himself. 

Mulder lay Krycek down on his double bed as gently as he could, but the transitional jolt from firm shoulders to the soft bed made the patient finally wake up. Krycek opened his eyes and groaned at the bright light, and for a few seconds he thought that he had only dreamed that Mulder had rescued him. That he really was not free, but still strapped down with his leg amputated.   
But then the apparition before him spoke and he knew that things had a chance of turning out okay. 

"Alex, can you hear me?" Mulder asked when he saw Krycek's eyes flutter open. For a few seconds Krycek stared blankly at him. But once he had spoken though, Mulder saw recognition register with the bloodshot and emerald gaze. 

Swallowing hard Alex answered with a raspy voice. "Yes." 

Mulder audibly sighed his relief. "Good." He said.   
Without thinking about what he was doing, he gently pushed back Alex's long bangs from his eyes, and felt the exposed forehead. Alex's brow was both hot and sweaty.  
"You're safe now." Mulder said as he picked up Krycek's left hand and rubbed the back of it with the fingertips of his other hand. He slowly drew the backs of his fingers up the length of the long limb, stopping at the band of crinkly scar tissue that ringed the biceps muscle. "What happened Alex? Did the aliens do this?" He asked, amazed to see the arm back. 

Alex smiled weakly, he liked it when Mulder used his first name, though he doubted that Mulder even realized that he was using it instead of 'Krycek'... "Yes." He answered honestly.  
"I've been on that ship for over a year. That's how long it took _them_ to grow my arm back. That faceless rebel you killed was in the process of removing my leg to see if the regrowth cycle could be duplicated.   
Krycek groaned. "Jesus Christ, my head hurts. How long have I been out of it?" He asked. Then he said, "I need some water. I'm so thirsty." 

Mulder let go of Alex's arm and went into his tiny kitchen. He pulled a bottle of cold water out from his small half fridge and padded back to the bedroom. He opened the water up and put the plastic to Krycek's dry and cracked lips. Alex drank down the refreshing liquid greedily, until finally, Mulder pulled the bottle away and said, "That's enough... for now. To answer your question, you've been out of it for just under twenty-four hours."

Alex fell back against the soft pillows, "Where am I?" He asked, his thirst still not completely slaked.

Picking up Alex's left hand again, Mulder replied, "Under the Hoover Building, in the bowels of a nuclear bomb shelter that was built especially for J. Edger. There is forty of us living down here. Forty-one now."  
Mulder linked his fingers through Alex's, there were many questions that he wanted to ask Alex about the aliens and the ship. But all that could wait for later, he had to know the answers to some other questions first. "That night Alex. In my apartment..." He looked down, directly into Krycek's dark green eyes, whose pupils were large and his eyes glassy from the fevered heat. Mulder recognized the what he saw in Krycek's eyes and he silently wished that Scully would hurry up and come to his room. "You tried to warn me about all of this." He swept his other arm in a wide circle. 

"Tried and failed." Krycek said, he knew that he must be sicker than he thought, because now he could see that his _saving angel_ Mulder was sitting on the edge of the bed right next to him holding his hand lovingly. Not to mention that the agent had a soft white glow outlining his form, making the agents lithe body appear unearthly in Alex's glazed eyes. 

Mulder squeezed his hand in a reassuring manner. "It's not your fault Alex. One man alone is no match for an entire race of life forms. The Englishman told me that it was you who brought him the cure for Scully, way back when she was captured. 

Alex laughed softly. "Ahhh, Fox..." He said as he raised his right hand and gently cupped Mulder's face. "You always did try to see the best in people." He let his hand drop. "But it was my fault. If I hadn't been so duplicitous and traitorous in the past..." Suddenly he turned his head to side, away from Mulder. He was unwilling to let the agent see the single tear that had slipped out of the corner of his eye and was now cascading down over his cheek. "...You might have believed me." He said softly, finishing his sentence. 

Mulder kissed the back of Krycek's smooth, new left hand softly. He had seen the fat drop of saline escape and as much as he longed to reach out and wipe it away for Alex, he resisted the impulse. "I believed you. Scully and I went to Weikamp, but before I could help the rebel, he was taken and I was mind-wiped. I had to be regressed to remember what I had seen." 

Alex turned his head back, the tear was gone now leaving a small splat of moisture on the soft cotton pillowcase. "You did?" He asked. His leg was throbbing in time to his heartbeat but he ignored the pain. Mulder had believed in him when it really counted and at the moment, that's all that mattered to Alex. 

"Yes. You were most convincing, especially after you kissed me." Mulder leaned down and began to kiss Krycek gently on the lips. Uncaring that the man laying prone before him was supposed to be his enemy. He had wanted Alex Krycek from the very beginning and he knew that Alex had wanted him too; the 'green agent' act aside. 

Every time they had met in the past, Mulder had felt a spark of attraction jolt through him like a lightening bolt. It was the same for Alex too, or why else would a trained killer allow himself to be knocked around by a fumbling FBI agent.  
After Mulder found had out that Krycek's arm had been cut off in Tunguska - without the aid of anesthetic—he had hastily wiped the slate, though it still was not completely clean. Even though he knew for certain that Alex did not kill Melissa Scully, Alex had still done a lot of other very bad things; like murdering his father to name one.   
Then one night, after a year long absence from his miserable life, Alex appeared at his apartment with a grave warning of impending doom and sealed the truth with one simple, body trembling, electric kiss on the cheek. Mulder had puckered his lips but did not turn his head to meet Alex's full, bottom lip, though he had really wanted too.   
Alex had called him his _friend_ albeit in Russian, just before walking out the door to do god knows what. But had Mulder committed the words to memory and later on, had them translated. The slate was starting to become a little bit cleaner now.   
Mulder spent two long years pining for the renegade Russian, wondering if he was dead or alive; wishing he would just show up. Then the virus struck and began killing people and an alarming rate and suddenly Mulder had other things to worry about.   
Even though Mulder could hear voices and sense the thoughts of other people deep within his cerebral cortex, he had no hint what so ever of what disaster was on the horizon. He had no idea that Alex was telling the truth. The aliens' virus had all but destroyed mankind, like an exterminator wiping out a teeming nest of termites.  
As it turned out, it was only after most of the people had died, that Mulder had learn how to control the incredible gift that he suddenly found himself saddled with. Now he had the ability to shut out the many voices and emotions whispering inside his head; just like a tap, Mulder was able to turn them off and on at will.

As Mulder continued to chastely kiss the younger man, he reached out mentally and read what was inside of Alex's mind. Immediately he could sense Krycek's remorse for past events and he could clearly feel Alex's regret for not being able to stop the aliens' agenda. Then Mulder reached in a little farther and for a split second, he experienced the excruciating pain of the experiments that the aliens had performed on Alex. And even deeper still, he felt Alex's long repressed, secret love for him, Fox Mulder F.B.I.   
Mulder pulled his thoughts out of Alex's mind and then shut them off all together. He sat up straighter and smiled down at the injured man. He could see the passion and ardor contained within the depths of Alex's eyes clearly. "Was that okay I did that?" Mulder asked softly, referring to the kiss.   
Alex would never even realize that his deepest thoughts had been _read_. Especially if Mulder didn't want him to and he didn't, not yet at least. Mulder reached out gently and tucked a strand of long dirty hair behind Alex's elfin like ear.

"Yes." Came the husky reply. "That was nice." 

"I want you to know Alex that everything that happened in the past, is just that. The past. Ancient news now. Your slate is washed clean as far as I'm concerned." 

"But what about your father?" 

"I know now that whatever you did, you were made too... that your actions were not of your own free will. Correct?" 

"Yes. But..." 

Mulder shook his head. "No more Alex. I want to live in the present. I'm tired of wasting time." He stared down at the younger man for a minute before whispering softly, "I love you Alex. I always have, I always will. I don't want to be your enemy anymore." It was harder for Mulder to say the words than he thought it would be. 

"I love... you too... Fox." Alex blinked his eyes a few times, fighting off the emotional tears. But it was of no use, it had been a long time since he had let himself feel anything except anger. It felt good to be able to let the emotional baggage go, especially when the one person he had ever dared to let in, was telling him that he was forgiven and loved.   
Alex looked into Mulder's eyes and saw that the former agent was being honest with him. He could detect no signs of hatred, in his loves beautiful green eyes; no deception written in the small wrinkles at the corners of the eyes or across his forehead.   
The floodgates opened and Alex Krycek, murder, traitor, thief cried like he hadn't done since he was a small child back in the orphanage. The tears flowed and he released his guilt with them. He was loved by Mulder, that's all that mattered now. Together they would find a way to defeat the alien invaders, once and for all. 

Mulder smiled again, and using a Kleenex he mopped up the wetness on Alex's prominent cheek bones. Slowly the tears dissipated. 

"Oh god." Alex moaned. "I must be sicker than I thought to be lying here and crying like a baby." 

Mulder leaned down and kissed Alex again, this time he gently poked his tongue into the pliant man's mouth, and Alex responded by giving Mulder a feel of his tongue. "It's okay." Mulder said, when he sat up again. "I kind of like the new sensitive you. But your right about one thing, you are sick. I wonder where Scully is? She should be here by now." Mulder glanced at his watch, he had been waiting for her to arrive for half an hour. 

"Here I am." Came the emotionless response from Scully, who stood in the bedroom doorway. 

Mulder let go of Alex's hand and turned around quickly to face his partner. And the expression on Mulder's face made Scully think that she had just walked in almost caught him doing something _naughty_. 

"It's about time." He said. "Where have you been? He's really hot." Mulder could not keep the anxiety from his voice. He heard a small giggle and glanced down at Alex, who was laughing softly, about what, he didn't know but Mulder could guess. 

Scully frowned at Mulder but did not answer his question, because she had been delayed because she was busy reporting Mulder's _find_ to Skinner. Then after that, she had taken her sweet time assembling an emergency tray of supplies in order to mend Mulder's traitorous killer with.   
She did not want to help Krycek in any way shape or form, in fact she contemplated letting him die. But she knew that Mulder would never forgive her if she allowed that to happen. So it was for her partner alone that she spent the next half an hour cleaning and closing the wound on Krycek's upper thigh.   
The very first thing she did was start an I.V. The solution dripping slowly into Alex's arm aided him in overcoming the effects of dehydration. Then she hastily scrubbed off the scab that had started to form over the long cut and when Krycek hissed in pain, she couldn't help but feel a small twinge of vindication. To close the puss filled wound, she chose to use butterfly bandages rather than stitches to hold the infected cut together. Thinking that they would be better for drainage purposes.  
When she finally looked up, Scully saw that Mulder was not pleased as she had been that Krycek was in pain again. She thought that she had better hurry and finish the job.   
After he was bandaged, Scully injected Krycek's IV with a mild sedative mixed with a good strong dose of penicillin; though she was loathe to waste good medicine on such a bad seed. The healing drugs would aid in Krycek's recover immensely.   
As she was cleaning up her mess, she noted that as soon as she had backed away from the bed, Mulder had replaced her immediately by sitting next to Krycek. 

Slowly drifting off, Alex asked Mulder sleepily, "Will you be here when I wake up? We have a lot to talk about." 

"I'll be here for you Alex." Mulder promised as the double agent's eyes closed and he fell asleep.

Scully, finished picking up, stood by the bedroom door waiting for Mulder to be done with Krycek. As she stood there, she wondered when Mulder had gone from hissing out the name _Krycek_ to saying gently, almost lovingly _Alex_. Something was up between the two, that much she was positive of. She was sure that she recognized the actions of a man who was infatuated.   
" After all," she reasoned to herself "...on the ship Mulder had immediately recognized Krycek's screams and had gone to great lengths to rescue him...   
And when she had walked in earlier, all she had heard him say was 'where is she?' but his posture, the way he was talking and touching Krycek. All of his actions spoke of more of what he was really saying than Mulder realized he was letting on.   
Scully shook her head, determined to talk to Mulder about Krycek. But she could see that now probably wasn't the best time, considering was too busy fawning and fussing over the slumbering Krycek's form, pulling up the blankets, rearranging pillows. She suddenly realized that along with her animosity toward the Russian, there was also a little bit of jealously mixed in with her emotions. 

"Mulder." She said when he had finally stood up, obviously satisfied with Krycek's comfort. 

"Yes." He replied. 

"Let's go to the kitchen and get a coffee." She suggested. 

With one last glance of longing over shoulder, Mulder reluctantly agreed and shutting out the lights, he left Alex alone to sleep in the dark room. After he closed the door behind himself, Mulder immediately went to the kitchen. He filled the kettle with water and plugged it in to boil while Scully measured out the amount of instant coffee she preferred into her mug and did the same for Mulder. Once the coffee was made, they sat at the small round table. 

It was Mulder who finally broke the awkward silence between them by saying, "Do you happen to know where my mom is?" He had phoned her while waiting for the water to boil, but only got her answering machine. He thought that she was off duty from working in the gardens today. 

Scully sipped her coffee, knowing her partner well enough to know that he was avoiding the pressing topic of Alex Krycek. However, she did happen to know where Mulder's mother was, so she answered his question.   
"She left this morning with a team to go to the surface. She and six others are gone for the next ten days on a foraging mission. They're in search of some more seedlings among other things. Your mother is also going to try to locate some medicinal plants for me. She and I are going to start collaborating on an experiment. My penicillin and antibiotics wont' stay fresh forever..." She glanced quickly toward the closed bedroom door. 

"How did you find out that she had gone? We've only been back for an hour?" Mulder asked, a little worried that his mother was gone out on a mission. Though it was not intended to be a dangerous one, it could still turn out to be. Mulder shrugged his shoulders, his mother was a grown woman and could come and go at will. He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Scully, suddenly suspicious.  
"Skinner told me to tell you." Scully replied casually. "I gave the vials to the Lone gunmen. They are trying to find out the contents as we speak." 

Now Mulder knew for sure that Scully's long delay wasn't in putting together a first-aid tray, or handing off the amber vials of liquid they had found to the Lone gunmen, no, she had spent most of her time reporting on him or rather on Alex to Skinner. 

Scully and Mulder stared at each other, caught in a stand-off. Finally it was Scully who looked away first. She put the mug that she had been holding down and tackled the subject that they were now both avoiding.   
"Mulder." She started. "Krycek is under your roof, in your bed. What are you planning to do with him once he's better? You can't trust him again you know that. Right? He's a traitor and most likely still working for the elder Spender. If that cancerous bastard is even still alive." Scully could tell by the looking at Mulder that nothing she had to say about Krycek would even penetrate him. She could also tell that she was pissing him off with her bad mouthing of the Russian. 

"I've touched his mind Scully." Mulder said, controlling his anger and his voice. "He's not a traitor... anymore... he won't hurt me again. I know that for a fact... And he won't betray the people living down here." His anger dissipated, he could truly understand how Scully could hold on to her outrage. After all, it was her sister Melissa who had been killed and she was the one who had been abducted and experimented on. The aliens had stolen her ovum from her body like raiders stealing the riches from and Egyptian Tomb. 

Scully studied the man sitting across from her for a few seconds more, but gave up in trying to warn him against Krycek. Mulder was a big boy, he would find out for himself that Krycek could not be trusted, regardless of whether or not he had read his thoughts.  
"Well, putting my personal opinion of the man aside, I'll give you a medical one instead. Krycek..." She said Alex's name tightly, "...is likely to be out of it all of tonight and most of tomorrow. So why don't you sleep at Walt... um... Skinners' place for tonight and I'll check in on him periodically to administer the penicillin. 

Mulder stood up and placed his mug in the sink. "No. I promised Alex I'd be here when he woke up." His back was to her, so he didn't notice Scully's eyebrows rise in surprise. "Listen,..." He said, turning around. " Just show me the dose of the drug and I'll put it in his I.V." 

Scully thought for a minute, then knowing that this battle was lost; there was now way she could convince Mulder to Leave Krycek's side. She showed him what to do then left him alone to sit vigil over a man that she had thought—obviously wrongly—her partner had despised the most in the world.

* * *

**Four Days Later**

After eating breakfast together, Mulder left the vastly improving Alex in search of Scully and the lone gunmen. He was interested to find out about how their progress was going in reference to the amber filled vials they had discovered—along with Krycek—in the alien ship. 

Mulder was reluctant to leave Alex alone as they had been together continuously for the last four full days. But with every passing sunrise, the Russian's health got better and Mulder ran out of excuses for not leaving him alone.   
With only one bed in the small dwelling, Mulder had shared his sleeping space with Alex every night. However, their sexual contact had been limited to only kissing and holding each other tightly under the cozy covers.   
Both men were becoming more than a little anxious to share much more. Each of them had fantasies that they wanted to fulfill and both knew that very soon, they would get together to experience those fantasies. But for the moment, they were content to cuddle. The two men passed the nights talking about the past, and divulging their hopes for the future; finding it easier to talk to on another in the dark.   
Only once more since Alex's arrival did Mulder reach out and touch read mind. Alex had been having a nightmare and desperate to understand his terrors, Mulder closed his eyes and concentrated.   
What he saw in the young Russians' dreams were enough to give him night mares. He experienced through Alex's eyes and his emotions, his left arm being cut off. With the amputation came all of the pain, as well as the trauma of seeing your limb tossed into a roaring fire for cremation by men who thought they were helping you. He saw his own self through Alex's eyes and felt the younger man's heartache at having to betray the man he loved -him, Mulder.   
It was at that point that Mulder pulled out. After he had, Mulder felt a shiver run through him, and now he could truly comprehend what Alex had gone through all those years ago in the Siberian countryside.   
Mulder also determined from Alex's thoughts that the young Russian was genuinely reformed; he had found his way back from the dark side... and that fact, made Mulder's heart soar... he would no longer have his doubts about his love. 

Mulder kissed his lover goodbye and reluctantly left the limping man behind in the apartment, with assurances from Alex that he would be fine. 

A few hours after Mulder had left him, Alex, tired of being cooped up found the courage to open the front door and step into the cool dark corridor. He looked left then right and saw not another living soul. But then, he knew from talking with Mulder that the shelter was huge. With only forty-one people inhabiting a shelter meant for hundreds, seeing another was highly unlikely.  
The shelter, as Mulder aptly described it, felt 'positively cavernous' at times. Alex now could grasp what Mulder had meant by that.   
As well, it didn't help that Mulder had chosen living quarters well away from the rest of the people; all of whom slept and lived in relative proximity to each other.   
Alex started off down the hall. He was feeling anxious about being away from the small room for the first time and yet, he was excited about exploring his new surroundings too.   
For the past year Alex had been living a very solitary life and high cement ceilings and wide-open halls of the shelter unnerved him slightly.   
With those thoughts, he shuffled down the hall and turned the corner. Alex, engrossed inside his own mind, never heard the blow coming. And when the punch struck the centre of his stomach, Alex thought the fist was going to pass right through his navel.   
His breath expelled out all at once and he fell to his knees, gasping and sputtering and trying desperately to suck in some precious air into his suddenly deprived lungs. At the moment, Alex's guts ached worse than his leg did, and he wasn't so sure that he wouldn't get sick to his stomach.  
With his head hanging, Alex opened his eyes and saw a pair of black army boots standing directly in front of his sight line. He slowly brought his gaze up, starting at the boots and following the legs up the entire length of his assailants tall body. When he reached the top and found himself looking directly into the stern brown eyes of Walter Skinner, he grimaced   
The look Skinner was giving him back was so full of hate that Alex assumed that despite Mulder's wishes, the former A.D. was going to kill him any ways. He tried to rise off of his knees, but before he could get more than half way up, Skinner clipped him in the jaw causing his bottom lip spit open on impact.   
His head snapped back and blood sprayed out of his mouth leaving a large splatter pattern on the wall beside him.   
Skinner's knuckles had forced the tender tissue inside of Alex's mouth over his teeth. Cutting the soft flesh into ribbons.   
Though Alex fell back down to his knees, he refused to fall completely over. Instead he stared up defiantly at his former boss and his glower was greeted with another blow to the other side of his face, cutting up the insides of his mouth further. His nose squirted blood out of both nostrils.   
Alex's right eye immediately began to swell and close and deep blue bruising was already visible under his eye as well as on the left side of his jaw bone.  
"You done yet?" Krycek said, spitting out a mouth full of blood, trying to maintain is dignity despite still being on his knees. He had his hands cradled in his stomach as if to protect it from another blow. 

Skinner squatted down in front of Alex and grabbed him by the jaw, smiling evilly when the Russian agent wince with pain, "That was for Dana's sister and Mulder's father." He hissed. 

* * *

Mulder and Scully rounded the corner and had to come to a sudden stop because their path was blocked by Skinner and Krycek. "What the hell is going on?" Mulder asked Skinner angrily as he ran to Alex's side. 

Skinner stood up and backed away from Krycek, who was still defiantly staring his former boss down. Though he could only glare with one large green eye, Alex still managed to look menacing. However, with his mouth and nose still bleeding he did not paint too intimidating of a picture. 

Scully's went to Skinner and putting a delicate hand on his large forearm. She asked him gently, "What's going on Walter?"

Mulder pulled Alex up to his feet and gently touched his bleeding nostril. Alex flinched slightly but let Mulder touch his nose. "Are you all right Alex?" he asked. 

"I'm all right." Alex replied emotionlessly. He pulled a Kleenex out from his front pocket and began to dab at his nose gingerly, frowning at the bright red blood that was rapidly soaking into the small tissue. 

Mulder stared at Scully and Skinner. The fact that they stood so close and that Scully had called Skinner _Walter_ did not slip by him unnoticed. 

"Judging by the colour of his blood, We can safely deduce that he's not a shape-shifter here to kill us..." Skinner spit out.

"I could have told you that!" Mulder yelled angrily at Skinner. He moved his body over a pace and stood directly in front of Alex, as if to protect him from further abuse. 

"He could be a plant Mulder." Scully said softly. "They could have brainwashed him, he might not even know it himself. Have you thought of that?" 

"No, but you obviously have." He said to Scully, barely controlling his anger when talking to her.

Alex in the meantime had pulled off his T-shirt and used it to further clean himself up. He tossed the blood soaked tissue to the floor. It might have looked like he wasn't paying attention to the trio but he was listening intently to every word. 

Mulder continued to glare at Scully, unwilling to believe she would take Skinner's side over his. But he studied their body language for a second and then thought to himself,   
"So it's like that is it?"  
Pissed off at both of them, and with his temper threatening to get away from his control, Mulder finally said, "Do I have to remind you Scully, that it was Alex lying there on the table about to get his leg lopped off." Mulder swallowed hard, "He was captured trying to steal back the E.B.E. for Christ sakes."  
Both former agents continued to stare at Mulder, unconvinced. "It was Alex who brought the vaccine into the country in the first goddamned place, the very same vaccine the Englishman gave to me in order to save your life with!"

It was at that point that Alex stepped out from behind Mulder, his bloody shirt was dangling from his hand like a rag. He put a hand on Mulder's shoulder and said in a monotone, "It doesn't matter what you say to them Fox. They'll never believe anything except the worst about me. I'll never measure up."

"Oh yeah. Saint Krycek." Skinner mumbled with narrowed eyes. 

Mulder ignored Skinner's biting remark. 

Scully sighed heavily. She stared at Alex's thin arm and noted the scaring where it had been cut off, and grown back again. Logically, she knew that he had been through a horrific, painful ordeal, but she could not bring herself to forgive his sins. Scully shook her head softly, "Have you touched on his thoughts now that he's not in a drug haze?" She asked Mulder. 

Alex looked at Mulder quizzically, he didn't know what Scully meant by that comment. He did not however, ask Mulder, he would wait for later to find out. 

"Yes I have and there's no deception in them, whatsoever." Mulder stated emphatically. 

Skinner looked between both men, and then came to a decision. "Fine. He can stay Mulder. But he's your responsibility. Anything he does is on you!" He turned to Scully and asked her. "Do you have a minute Dana?"

"Mulder are we done?" She asked her partner. 

The two of them had been discussing some of the theories the lone gunmen had up forth about their immunity to the oil before coming across Skinner and Krycek in the corridor. 

"Yeah." Mulder said, a hint of sadness creeping into his tone now. "Were done."   
It sounded so final, to both his and Scully's ears. He turned away from the two people he thought he could trust and said to the person he _knew_ he could trust, "Come on Alex. I'll help you to clean up." Then without a backwards glance at Scully or Skinner, he took Alex gently by the hand and guided the limping man back to their small apartment 

* * *

AUGUST-1999   
PAIRINGS: Alex Krycek/Fox Mulder.   
RATING: R— Contains violence and suggestive language/ depiction of mild sexuality between men. If this is not for you then, please, turn back now. You have been warned. Any flames... will be used to start my bar-be-que. All sincere criticism welcomed.   
Questions? Comments? e-mail me [email removed]   
SPOILERS: Everything up to season six's finale—'The end' and the movie. Fox Mulder can read others thoughts in this, and can read them clearly.   
SYNOPSIS: This is an A.U. story featuring Mulder and Krycek along with a few other X-files characters. The story takes place in the year 2001—and on the premise that an early invasion has already happened, with disastrous results. A virus released by the aliens has backfired and ended up killing most of the earths' population instead of enslaving it. However, there are still a few survivors here and there. Also, a civil war being fought between the rebel shape-shifters/faceless ones and the small, intelligent greys. For now, the aliens are for the most part, ignoring the surviving humans as they have their hands full with fighting. Mulder, Skinner, Scully and the LGM along with some others have all survived the deadly virus and now live below the FBI building. Skinner is, by default in charge of the small group of people living in the shelter. Alex Krycek was caught and taken captive by the shape shifters while trying to steal the E.B.E. For the last year, he has been the victim of many painful experiments that the aliens performed on him. One of which resulted in his left arm being grown back, in a very painful process that took an entire year to complete.   
NOTES: Please just assume that the group living in the bomb shelter has a steady supply of food, water and power. I didn't want to get too technical with explanations. Also please assume that Fox and Samantha full are brother and sister not half as it goes well with my story line. Please be reminded that Fox Mulder can read others thoughts in this, and can read them clearly. This is a work of fiction, no profit of any kind was made in writing this. This body of work has been beta'd only by me... so any and all mistakes are just that... mistakes and I am sorry for them... 

Demi-X   
  
---


	2. Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is an A.U. story featuring Mulder and Krycek along with a few other X-files characters. The story takes place in the year 2001and on the premise that an early invasion has already happened, with disastrous results. A virus released by the aliens has backfired and ended up killing most of the earths' population instead of enslaving it. However, there are still a few survivors here and there. Also, a civil war being fought between the rebel shape-shifters/faceless ones and the small, intelligent greys. For now, the aliens are for the most part, ignoring the surviving humans as they have their hands full with fighting. Mulder, Skinner, Scully and the LGM along with some others have all survived the deadly virus and now live below the FBI building. Skinner is, by default in charge of the small group of people living in the shelter. Alex Krycek was caught and taken captive by the shape shifters while trying to steal the E.B.E. For the last year, he has been the victim of many painful experiments that the aliens performed on him. One of which resulted in his left arm being grown back, in a very painful process that took an entire year to complete.

Go to notes and disclaimers 

**Part II**

  
_"Destiny. Fate. How to throw a curve ball.  
The... inextricable relationships in our lives  
that are... neither accidental nor somehow in  
our control either."  
Fox Mulder—1998_  


Mulder wrung out the face cloth and hung it up on a small hook under the sink to dry. The water, once hot and clear was now lukewarm and stained red. He scrutinized Alex's bruised face for a second, then said to the reticent man, "Your eye should be opened again by the morning." 

Alex, sitting on the small kitchen counter, gave the man before him a tiny smile, though it hurt him to do so. "Thanks." He said, gingerly touching at his split and swollen bottom lip. 

"Alex..." Mulder started, he hesitated for a beat then continued, "...I'm sorry about Skinner and Scully."

"Don't be." Alex said. "I deserve everything I get and more." His voice was heavy with regret. "I've destroyed a lot of peoples lives... especially yours. If I've learned one thing Fox, it's that even while trying to save the planet and the people with it, there is no such thing as the _greater good_." Alex shrugged his shoulders, pretending as if it really didn't matter.   
"I was foolish enough to think that I was doing the wrong things for the right reasons." He hmmphed softly. "Skinner and Scully will never accept me Mulder... And I have to accept that... So do you." Still sitting on the counter, he looked down and his feet. His mood dismal. 

Mulder stepped in-between Alex's open legs and rested one hand on his knee and with the other he tilted Alex's lightly whiskered chin up.   
He couldn't remember ever seeing a lonelier expression on a person's face. "Nothing's your fault Alex. Or mine. The battle lines were drawn long ago by generals who wouldn't live to see the war. We were just the foot soldiers... small fish in a great big pond."   
Succumbing to his urge, Mulder leaned in and ever so gently kissed Krycek on his tender, puffy lips. All he wanted to do was kiss away Alex's melancholy for him. 

The slightly sad Russian responded to Mulder by opening his mouth and accepting his eager tongue. Alex's lip had opened up again and both men could taste the distinct tang of blood in their mouths. However, Alex didn't care that he was bleeding again, all that he was concerned about was Mulder, and what he was cleverly doing with the tip of his tongue.  
Alex pulled back and broke off the ardent kiss. He wrapped his arms tightly around the man standing between his legs' shoulders and pulled him into a hug.   
"Oh God." He breathed into the crown of Mulder's soft, chestnut brown hair. "To be able to hold you with two arms..." He was showing more emotion then he had intended to. "I can't believe you want me Fox... I..." His voice faltered, then stopped working all together; he didn't know what he trying to say anyway.

Mulder loosened himself from Alex's tight embrace just enough so that he could lean back and see into Alex's large, expressive eyes. Replying huskily, he said, "Oh Alex... Believe it. I want you all right." He took Alex's right hand and pushed it into his groin, directly onto his burgeoning erection. "Being near you makes me like this." He said. "Can you feel how much I want you?" 

Alex hung his head back and closed his eyes. "I can feel it Fox... but I still can't believe it, especially with the way I look right now." 

"You're beautiful Alex." Whispered Mulder. "Your face has been engraved into my memory. Without even knowing it, you've fulfilled all of my masturbatory fantasies, for years. Only you." 

Alex cracked his eye open and gave Mulder a smoldering gaze, or the best that he could with one eye swollen shut. "You're all I've thought about since I met you that day in the office bull pen. And when I kissed you for the first time... In your apartment,..." Alex's hand was now kneading Mulder's considerable erection through his heavy canvass pants. "...I wanted so badly to grab your face, shove my tongue down your throat and lick your tonsils. But I thought you'd bite it off if I tried." 

Mulder grinned at Alex's declaration. "I wish you'd tried it that night. Mind you, I can't say for sure that I wouldn't have bit you." He laughed softly. "Come on Alex... enough small talk, let's go to the bedroom."   
He took a hold Alex's hand—the one that had been so pleasantly fondling his erection—and pulled the bruised and battered man off of the counter top and toward the bedroom. 

Once there, Mulder grabbed the hem of his shirt and was about to pull it off. But before he could, Alex, already shirtless himself stopped him. 

"No. Let me. Please." He said, his voice low and husky. Slightly nervous, Alex reached out with two trembling hands and pulled the plain T-shirt off, tossing it carelessly aside. Now both men were bare chested and barefoot, wearing only pants. Staring directly at Mulder, Alex undid the top button of his utilitarian trousers. 

Mulder looked down and watched Alex's movements closely and inhaled sharply when the Russian, slowly, one tooth at a time, lowered his zipper. He brought his gaze back up and saw that Alex was still watching him attentively.

"I've fantasized about undressing you for so long..." Alex said, as he used his right hand to quickly pop open all four buttons to his own jeans. "...And now that I have two good arms again..." He stopped talking mid sentence and searched Mulder's eyes, as if by visual examination he would be able to see what was going on inside the former F.B.I. agents' head.   
He himself was wondering what on earth a smart, gorgeous guy like Fox Mulder could possibly see in him. But it must be something, because the man was looking back at him just as engrossed.

"What?" Mulder, smiling, finally asked. 

"I'm wondering what you see in me. Especially now, with my face having gone three losing rounds with Skinner. You can't possibly find me attractive... now... I mean." 

"Oh Alex." Mulder sighed as he pushed his pants down to his ankles and stepped out of them. He shoved Alex's pants down too; who also stepped out of his pants and kicked them away.   
Mulder led Alex by the hand to the end of the bed where he pushed the younger man over so that he was laying down flat on his back. He straddled Alex's strong thighs carefully so as not to put his full weight on him and end up hurt his healing wound.  
"It's not just about your attractiveness anymore." Mulder said softly. "It's about love, longing and craving." He Punctuated each sentence with a random kiss, placed gently here and there, all over Alex's bruised face and smooth chest.   
"It's not just about wanting someone who should be, by all rights, unsuitable for you. Or only about desiring the _bad boy_ , who will bring you nothing but heartache in the end. Nor is it merely an attraction you know you shouldn't feel, but do."   
He caressed the tops of Alex's shoulders with the tips of his fingers, talking and kissing and caressing all at the same time; mingling the three.  
"No Alex. It's about falling in love, totally... head over heels in love. And longing for the one person that you know fits you perfectly. Mind." He bit at Alex's left nipple, "Body." He whispered over Alex's smooth chest as moved on to the other erect nub, "... And soul." Mulder finished his quote by biting at the other nipple firmly and then sucking on it briefly  
"I'm in love with a man, who understands my obsession and my impossible quest so clearly, that despite the extreme personal risks to himself, he would show up every once in a while and try to help me out."   
Mulder started to gently lick his way up and over Alex's chest. "You're everything that's wrong for me Alex and everything that's so good. I can see the path you tried to take and the trail you were forced to follow by the elders. And I understand it. I understand you."   
Mulder sucked in Alex's earlobe and poked his tongue inside the auditory organ; rimming it suggestively. He whispered directly into the ear, his breath was hot and it made Alex's skin rise involuntarily with goose bumps.   
"It's over Alex, all of it is over. People used us like pawns on a chess board but in the end, it was us who got the last laugh. This is the fresh start you've always wanted. Just you and me getting what we want in life... each other. So you see Alex," He bit Alex's lobe and spoke with the little piece of flesh was still firmly between his teeth, "... to answer your question, what I see in you is a man with incredible beauty and more brains than the average person. A former double agent with a heart full of love, for me and me alone. No one will ever love me as much as you do Alex. I know that for a fact." 

Alex tilted his head to the side, giving Mulder clear access to his neck. Mulder kissed his way down the side and when he reached the sensitive junction between shoulder and neck, Alex gave a soft groan pleased that Mulder was leaving his mark behind. "I do love you Fox. Only you. I've never given my _real_ feelings to anyone before. Ever. Ahhhh. Jesus! Do that again." He cried. 

Mulder grinned and then nipped harder at the smooth bit of skin at the back of his neck, near the ear. Extremely pleased when his lover moaned and arched his back like a stretching cat. He had just found his first sensitive spot of what he hoped would be many on Alex. And Mulder looked forward to finding each and every one of his lover's erogenous zones. To him, Alex was like un-chartered territory, and he could not wait to go exploring. Mulder stopped suckling Alex, causing the Russian to whimper out a small protest. He licked several dark purple marks, evidence of his handy work, one more time then sat up straighter and then asked Alex, "What is it you see in me?" 

Alex opened his good eye, looked up at Mulder and said honestly, "You were the quintessential underdog Fox. And I cheered every time the council of old men failed to stomp you down."  
He reached behind Mulder's and his cupped bare ass while talking, squeezing and teasing the firm cheeks to punctuated his comments. "Your spirit soars, lifting those around you up. You made me believe Fox; in you and your search for a truth that I knew was out there. And when you let me in and trusted me, even though I was a spy, you made me feel alive. For a time, you even made me forget that I was merely the consortium's whore; doing their bidding like a common street walker for her pimp. The day you called me Alex and asked me for my car keys was the day that I fell in love with you."   
"But then I was forced to leave you." Alex blinked and his soft, swollen mouth made a firm line. "I gave you the keys to the car, knowing full well what you would find. I wanted you to know what I was and how far _they_ would go to stop you. It was all I could do to help you at the time, until I got stronger with knowledge. All of those times, when you beat me Fox, I knew what was really on your mind. You wanted to get back at me for hurting you. And at the same time you wanted to fuck me silly." Alex raised his eyebrow and grinned. "You hated and loved me at the same time." 

Mulder was truly amazed by Alex's clear grasp of what had been going through his mind at the time. 

"I deserved what you gave me that's why I took your shit without fighting back. I wanted to be punished... I wanted you to hurt me..." Alex wrapped his arms around Mulder's neck and pulled his former _partner_ down for another kiss. Their tongues immediately met and blended.   
Mutually breaking apart, Alex said, "Let's talk more later..." Then he pulled Mulder down again and thrust up, rubbing both of their erections together. 

"Yes." Mulder breathed between kisses, "Later... Much later..." He sucked on Alex's tongue like it was a cock and spoke no more. 

After several minutes of deep kissing, Mulder sat up and said, "Roll over and I'll rub your back for you." He was very conscious of the fact that Alex wanted to make love just as badly as he did, but he knew that the younger man must still be extremely sore. So Mulder decided that it would be better if they just took their time, after all they had no where they had to be.   
What he couldn't say to Alex was that the dark bruise that had formed in the centre of his stomach—the result of Skinner's large fist hitting him there— bothered Mulder to have to look at it. But not because it was ugly, but because it as put there by Skinner and in truth, the fist size bruise reminded him of the lonely Russians' isolation from the others within the shelter. 

Alex complied readily to Mulder's request and flipped over gracefully, resting his head on his arms. With his eyes closed he murmured softly, "Mmmm, I haven't had a back rub in years." 

Mulder stared at the stark white flesh on his lover's back for a few seconds before reaching out and running his hands over Alex's broad shoulders. Other than a few dime size scars across the blades, Krycek's back was perfectly pristine in its creamy whiteness. He had no blotches, freckles or even a small pimple marring the beautiful pale canvass.   
As his gaze moved north, down along Alex's strong even spine, Mulder could see the bottom two ribs of Alex's cage standing out clearly, and he made a mental note to keep feeding his lover better than the aliens had.  
When his eyes reached Alex's ass, Mulder ran the palm of his hand over one firm cheek then the other. Greeting the perfectly rounded forms excitedly. He thought that Alex had the most perfect butt that he had ever laid eyes on, or touched for that matter; male or female.   
Tight and round, he couldn't help but use both hands to gently kneed the fleshy twin mounds before separating them, exposing Alex's perfect, pink bud. 

Alex "mmmed" again and asked, "Do you like what you see?" 

"Oh yeah. Do I ever." Replied Mulder huskily, his cock leaking pre-cum profusely. He moved his body up Alex's torso just enough so that his erection was playfully poking at his exposed, tight hole.   
Mulder reluctantly released Alex's ass and reached over to open the night stand drawer where he pulled a small bottle of vanilla scented oil out of it.   
The oil had come from a chain of shops that specialized in all organic ingredients and no testing on animals. Which was a moot point now, considering there were more animals than people alive any ways. Mulder shrugged and squeezed the bottle, drizzling an aromatic trail across Alex's shoulders and down his spine. He grinned wickedly when the younger man jumped at the coldness of the pleasant smelling oil. Dropping the bottle near his leg on the bed, Mulder laid his strong, firm hands on Alex's warm skin and began to rub.  
He very carefully and very lovingly worked the slick oil into Alex's entire back. But eventually Mulder's hard-on dictated where the massage would lead to, and his hands, obeying his brain, ventured lower.  
He poured a little more oil over Alex's left cheek then took great pleasure at working it in. Fully erect, Mulder ran his index finger through the small crease that divided Alex's ass and was encouraged to probe further when Alex purred his appreciation to the gentle touches.  
With his hand still slick with oil, Mulder gently slipped in one finger to the second knuckle. And as soon as that was fully accepted, he pushed it in further and then added another slippery digit. Slowly, he worked his two fingers in and out of Alex's tight opening, making the already relaxed man even more pliable.   
Finally, satisfied that his lover was completely ready, Mulder poured a couple of drops of oil onto his cock and spread the slick fluid by hastily stroking himself. Once he was prepared, he stretched out fully over top of Alex's body and husked into his ear, "Are you ready for this?" 

"Yes." Replied Alex simply. 

While still stretched over Alex's back, Mulder held onto his member and eased the plum-sized head of his cock inside of Alex slowly.   
Alex groaned his appreciation and raised his hips in order to give Mulder easier access.

Once he had breached Alex's incredible tightness and was fully seated inside, Mulder stopped moving, giving the younger man time to adjust to his width. 

"That feels sooo good." Alex sighed breathily. 

Mulder smiled and used both hands in order to pull Alex onto his hands and knees, recognizing that a year ago this position would have been impossible for the Russian.   
It had been a long time since either one of them had made love and Mulder knew that neither one of them would be able last very long... this time around. Snaking one hand around Alex's flat stomach, Mulder engulfed the younger man's considerable heat with-in his fist, squeezing until it fit inside his hand snugly. 

Alex moaned and pushed back, trying to sink Mulder's cock inside his body farther. 

Mulder stroked over Alex's cock in time with his not so gentle thrusts; making the Russian moan every time his gland was bumped by the head of his cock. 

The younger man muttered in Russian and bucked with pleasure, in return building up Mulder's own sexual frenzy. 

Still thrusting and stroking, Mulder stretched out over Alex's back once more and began to gently kiss and bite him all over his shoulders; kissing each and every one of the scars marring the otherwise perfect flesh. His balls clenched at the same time as Alex' s ass muscles cinched tightly around him with orgasm, and both men let the waves of gratification surge through them.   
Mulder clamped his mouth down on the side of Alex's neck and suckled on the flesh like a newborn baby with a bottle as his body stiffened with pleasure.

Satisfied and sated, Alex collapsed flat onto his belly and Mulder went down with him. 

Mulder lay on him for another few seconds before finally releasing the marked bit of skin and rolling over to his back, beside Alex. He ran the tips of his fingers softly over the innocently sexy, small of Alex's back. 

"I'm too heavy for you." Replied Mulder practically, reaching over his prone lover for a hand towel in which to clean them up with. 

"Mmmm. That massage felt great." Alex said rolling to his side too; sleepy now. He briefly wondered why sex was such a great sleeping pill, but decided to ask Mulder later... 

Mulder spooned in behind Alex and ran his index finger over one of the scars. "Where did you get these?" he asked. 

Half way to falling asleep, Alex replied, "When I was 12 I ran away from the orphanage. When they brought me back, I was beaten with a cane as a punishment. _They_ made sure that I served as an example to the other kids who might have big ideas about getting away too." 

Mulder kissed his lovers cheek and cuddled in even closer to Alex. "I'm sorry." He said, and he meant it. 

"It's not your fault Fox." 

"No one ever tried to adopt you?" 

"It wasn't that kind of place. Oh, the sign out front said 'orphanage', but childless couples weren't welcome. Only consortium fathers, scientists and... Well it doesn't matter anymore anyway." Alex yawned again and reached behind to pat Fox's cheek softly. "The orphanage was a lifetime ago. I'm going to nap for a bit... Stay and sleep with me?" He reached out and turned off the small bedside lamp, blanketing them in darkness. 

"I'll stay." Mulder said pulling up the blankets. He kissed Alex's whisker stubbled cheek, but did not close his eyes, instead he stared out into the black room, trying to deal with his own remorse and guilt. Because he had just touched on Alex's thoughts even though he had promised the younger that he wouldn't do it again.   
And now he knew that Alex was going to say _' consortium fathers, scientists and perverts'_ but changed his mind. The Russian was so complex, and had lived a life that Mulder couldn't even begin to comprehend. So promises aside, and knowing full well that morally that he had no right to read Alex's memories without his permission, Mulder reached inside the deep recesses of Alex's grey matter once again, and found a faded memory orphanage from when he was seven. 

* * *

_CGB Spender crushed his cigarette out into an ashtray that was made from clay and pressed into the shape of a small child's hand print. "What do you think Bill?" He asked, petting the pouting Alex's head like he was a prized puppy._

Bill Mulder squatted down in front of Alex and said to CGB while studying the small boy. "I think he looks like his mother." As Mr. Mulder stared intently into Alex's large eyes, a frown creased his mouth downwards.

Spender pulled Alex close to him and the little boy stiffened up. He didn't like either of the men. 

"But he resembles his father too. Hmm?" Spender smiled cruelly, "He reminds me of the little Fox, it's in the eyes." 

Mulder stood up and glared at Spender. "You stay the hell away from Fox!" He said, noticing how closely his co-worker held the young boy to his body. 

Alex thought the man who stank of smoke was telling the other man—a man who he had never seen before—that he looked like a fox. He didn't understand their English words very well—even though he was learning them—so he thought that he might be mistaken about the fox comment. The one thing that he did understand however, was what the smoking man wanted by holding him so close and touching him. Alex knew, that the man who smoked would seek his satisfaction from one of the older girls, or boys, just like he always did. 

"Excuse me. Sirs?" A woman's soft voice said, her English heavily accent by her natural inclination to speak Russian. "Alex needs to attend his weapons and munitions lessons now." She reached out and took the small boy's hand and led him away.

* * *

"OH FUCK!" Mulder thought to himself. 

Alex murmured noisily in his sleep and rolled away from Mulder's warmth. He always liked to start out cuddling while trying to fall asleep, but once he was out, his subconscious took over and invariably pulled his body away from all obstacles. 

Mulder absently rubbed at Alex's back—which was still facing toward him—and wondered why Spender and his father were in Russia, in particular, the same Russian orphanage that Alex was housed in. Both his father and CGB were younger, much younger in Alex's buried memory. But he had recognized the men easily anyway; especially his own father. Obviously his dad had been involved with Spender long before Samantha had been taken. Four years in fact, but most likely even longer than even that.   
He knew that Alex was two years younger than he, making him 38 to his current 40. So Mulder figured that he himself had to have been about nine years old at the time of Alex's recalled memory of his father. He could see from Alex's memory that the _little Alex_ hadn't known who Bill Mulder was. In fact, the grown up Alex didn't even realize it now that it had been Bill Mulder who had spoken in front of him that day.   
However it was clear that the _little Alex_ known what the senior Spender was all about. The boy had easily recognized the smoker's face but did not know his name and had understood enough to know that Spender would satisfy his lust —to Mulder's extreme relief—elsewhere.   
Mulder pondered what Spender meant by the _'he reminds me of a little Fox— it's in the eyes'_ comment. He sighed softly, the memory was old, and like most early memory's it was faded and could have happened just a little bit different than a small boys' perception of events. The words could have been said a little bit differently, but it still left Mulder to wonder.

Alex whined in his sleep, and Mulder immediately reached in and saw that his lover was dreaming about running away. Only Alex was a grown man now and was charging through a barren field, but he could not reach the other side of the field, no matter how hard he ran. The unknown and unseen entity following him, was scaring the running man.   
Mulder comforted the restless man by planting the suggestion that he had made it to the other side of the field and was now standing in a meadow of wild flowers. The sun was shining and his pursuers were long gone; he was safe in the tall, sweet-smelling glade.  
Leaving Alex's subconscious dreaming, Mulder delved back into the slumbering man's remembrances. He found the memory of the caning and pulled it forward so that he could see it. He covered his eyes with his left arm and replayed the experience in his own mind; like watching a video. 

* * *

_"Here he his!" Announced a worker for the orphanage in broken English. The large man, in his twenties, dropped Alex to the floor about six feet away, in front of the director of the orphanage. The Director was sitting in a large wing-back chair near a fire, and seated next to him, in a companion chair was CGB Spender.  
The large fire place was keeping both the spacious sitting room and the older men warm as they sipped napoleon brandy.   
The director put his snifter of liqueur down and stood up slowly. He went to where the worker was forcing the 12-year-old boy to kneel. Without giving a warning, he slapped Alex across the face, leaving a perfectly formed, bright red hand print in his wake. _

Alex grunted from the force of the blow but he stubbornly did not cry out. He glared up insolently at the man who had struck him. 

"You little cur!" The director shouted in Russian at the boy; angry that he could not get a reaction from him. "You dare to run from the centre!" 

Alex raised his hand and dabbed at the droplets of blood that had leaked from the corner of his mouth. He glanced at the red liquid on his fingertips, then slowly looked up at the director. With eyes full of hatred he said defiantly in Russian, "I didn't run from the centre. I ran from you!" He hawked a mouth full of thick bloody spit at the director's feet, succeeding in hitting one of the man's expensive leather shoes.

The middle-aged Russian was livid. He stammered out, "How DARE YOU!..." Then he screamed, "Scut!" and emphasized his anger by slapping Alex in the face again, this time succeeding in knocking the willowy boy over. 

CGB couldn't help but smile at Alex's independent spirit and his strong will. He stood up and stopped the director from striking Alex again. "Sit." He commanded the angry man evenly. Who did as he was instructed. 

The worker hauled Alex to his knees again and this time the boy shot his hate-filled looks at Spender, who squatted down in front of him. "Why do you run from your 'protector'?" Spender asked, reaching out to wipe away some blood that had spilled from the boy's nostril.

Alex recoiled backwards, avoiding Spender's touch. "I run..." He said in perfect, unaccented american english, "...because I"m tired of having him..." he jerked his head in the direction of the seated director, "...rutting with me like an animal in my bed night after night."   
He scowled at the American, then the turned his look of disgust on the director, who was momentarily choking on his brandy at hearing Alex's admission.

Spender narrowed his gaze. He stood up and pulling out a cigarette, he lit it. The boy unnerved him for some reason and his hands shook slightly. "Comrade Linovich won't be _bothering_ you anymore. I promise." He said and looking down, the older man exhaled his noxious smoke directly into Alex's face. 

Alex, not afraid of this man either, coughed exaggeratedly and fanned the smoke away with one hand. "That promise will only last until your gone back to America, Yankee dog..." 

Spender struck out quickly, like a snake striking a mongoose, and grabbed Alex's throat tightly within his large fist. He squeezed, momentarily cutting off the boy's air then easing up so the 12-year-old would not asphyxiate. "Don't you ever..." he said tightly, between clenched teeth, "...talk back to me."   
He constricted his hand again to make his point then he let go and grabbed Alex by the hair on the back of his head. Spender yanked back his head and forced the boy to look up at him   
. "Ohhh,Alexander. So young..." He handed his cigarette off to the worker without looking at the man. "...so willful and full of false bravado." Spender looked into Alex eyes for a second before saying, "So... so... pretty... No wonder the director is fond of you..." 

Alex, though in a considerable amount pain, smiled very sweetly up at the smoker and said, "I'm still a little bit too young for your taste though eh? But in two years, when my body has changed some more and I've grown a bit... then I'll be perfect for you, right? I know you. Men like you are all the same." He smiled another sweet smile. 

CGB pulled the boy's thick hair harder and said, "Your insolence is only digging you a deeper hole in which to bury yourself in Alex." He shook the boys' head to stress his anger.  
The truth was, Spender was shaken by Alex's incredible perceptiveness. The recalcitrant boy was absolutely correct, he was too young for his tastes; for now. 

Blinking up at Spender, Alex's green eyes were magnified larger because they were watering. He said cheekily, "I know when you leave this room today you will seek out a boy who has green eyes and dark hair, like Bill Mulder's son. Or will you go for a girl with brown hair and big brown eyes, just like his daughter..." 

"Shut up!" Spender thundered. 

Alex ignored the smoking man and talked on, "You're a joke! You covet Bill Mulder's wife and you want to posses his children and you think no one can see it." Alex laughed cruelly at the American. 

It was hard for Spender to believe that the boy on his knees before him was just twelve years old. 

"You can't have either of those things so you come here to Russia and pick teenagers who look like his kids; pale imitations who cannot say no to you. You take pleasure in controlling the children and in two more years it will be me who reminds me of Mulder's son. " Alex scowled, then broke into another angelic smile. "Director Linovich talks while fucks." He said. 

Spender roared with anger and slapped Alex hard, leaving his own hand print on the boy's beautiful face. He let go of Alex's hair and thrust the boy away from himself, embarrassed that a twelve-year-old had managed to get under his skin so easily and irritate him. 

Alex laughed at the older man, pleased with himself that he had at least, gotten the better of the two grown men. He may have won the war of words but he knew that his punishment for doing so would be meted out severely. He no longer cared anymore... 

Angry at himself, Spender lit another cigarette and said calmly to the worker who had hauled Alex up to his feet. "Take the cane to him. I want Alexander made an example of. Let the others know that runaways won't be tolerated." 

As the large worker dragged Alex away, Spender called out, "He attends his physical training and all his other lessons tomorrow, as usual. No mercy." 

"Fuck you—old man! You'll never break me. I'll never yield to you or any of your cronies..." Alex turned his head toward Spender and spit a mouthful of blood at the man. But he was too far away to actually hit him with it.   
The worker pulled him out the door but Spender could still hear the angry boy's last words..."I don't care what you do to me..." Spender smiled. Of course the boy would care... pain was always a great gentler in insolent, defiant boys...   


* * *

Mulder wiped away a tear of anger. All of those times that he had knocked Alex around, called him names and generally treated him like shit whenever possible. He had no idea that Alex had been raised to take abuse, or to kill at will; whichever was called for in any given situation. Mulder knew now that despite a young boys rebellious declaration of _'You'll never break me they had of course, done just that. And the ones who worked on breaking his spirit along with his will to live had taken great pleasure in doing so. He could genuinely understand now how and why Alex had done the syndicate's bidding; he had been raised specifically for the purpose. Mulder let the last vestiges of any reservations in loving Alex Krycek go.  
Nothing Alex had done in the past would matter, nothing. Not the murdering, not the acts of treason not even all of the lying. Nothing._

Mulder pulled Alex close to him and cuddled in behind the still sleeping man. He kissed Alex's neck and whispered into his lover's ear, "I'm sorry Alex... so sorry." Then he closed his eyes and tried to get a few hours sleep.

* * *

_"It's all going to hell."  
Alex Krycek._

**12 Days Later**

"Mom!" Exclaimed Mulder, smiling as he pulled the door open wider. "Come in."   
He hugged his mother lightly and then let her pass through the threshold. "I'm so glad to see you." He said as he held her hand and led her to the kitchen. "Coffee?" He asked. 

"Sure Fox. That would be nice." 

Mulder bustled around the kitchen, and when enough coffee had dripped through the machine he poured them each a cup. He sat down beside his mother and asked her conversationally. "How come you were gone so long?" 

Teena Mulder smiled "You know how these forays can be. We were having plenty of success in finding the things that we needed for the gardens. So we decided to keep with it." She smiled again then pulled her son into a hug. "I'm sorry if I worried you Fox. But it was really very quiet up there. I promise." She let go and studied her handsome son. She was amazed at how much he looked like his father, the hazel-green eyes were definitely Bill's as well as the deep brown hair. 

"It's okay Mom. I know you had lots' to do." Pouring some cream into his cup he said, "I have something I want to talk to you about, but first, tell me all about your trip. What did you find?..."

* * *

"Fox." Called Alex as he elbowed the door shut. He could hear his lover's voice coming from the kitchen so he smiled to himself and carrying his canvass shopping bag into the kitchen he said while walking, "Kelly at the green house told me your mother's home. She gave me some strawberries to serve with coffee for when she..." He cut off his sentence when he rounded the corner and saw that Mulder's mother was already at the apartment visiting.   
"Oh hello..." He said cheerily, genuinely pleased to finally be meeting her in person. He smiled brightly to Mrs. Mulder then turned his infectious grin on Mulder. "Hi." He said to him.

"Hi yourself." Replied Mulder, unable to stop himself from beaming back his Russian lover. He stood up and went over to where Alex was standing. "Whatchyagot?" He asked, curiously peeking into the top of the bag. 

"Kelly from the fruit beds gave me some strawberries to have with coffee for when your mom came by to visit. But I see I'm too late." He bent his head and looked into the bag too. 

"I think she gave them to _you_ under the guise of something sweet for my mother." Mulder looked directly at Alex and raised an eyebrow, playfully. "You probably flirted shamelessly with her just to get the berries in the first place." He took the bag from Alex and set it on the counter. Still smirking when Alex retorted "Me. Flirt to get what I want?" He pretended to sound surprised by the notion. 

Suddenly remembering where he was and who was in the room with him, Fox turned to his mother and said, "Mom this is Alex, Alex this is my mom." The smile quickly left his face when he saw the expression on her face. His Mother had been uncharacteristically quiet while he and Alex had been bantering back and forth. And now Mulder stood and stared at his mother, shocked. He could not believe the hate-filled glare she was shooting at Alex. 

Alex, who had been smiling too and initially had stretched his hand out in order to shake hers. But he lowered it slowly when he realized that Mrs. Mulder was not impressed at all to be meeting him. In fact, if looks could kill, he thought that he would have been dead twice over already.  
He knew her face and who she was of course, but Alex had never actually met Teena Mulder before. He couldn't fathom why she was staring at him in such a manner. Searching his memory, he could not recall a single event in which they might have crossed paths, so why was she looking at him so? He straightened up, cleared his throat and looked to Mulder for an explanation; puzzled and uncomfortable under the older woman's gaze. 

"Mom?" Mulder said, astonished by her rude behavior. "Mom!" He said again, this time more firmly. 

Finally Mrs. Mulder pulled her glaring brown eyes away from Alex and looked at her son. 

"What's the matter?" He asked her. 

Teena Mulder turned back to Alex and studied his eyes, but she spoke to her son. "Fox, there's no need to introduce us..." She said. "I know _who_ this is." She said vehemently. "Oh Shit!" Thought Alex.

Teena stood up and back away from the table, looking back and forth between the two men. "I know Natalia Krycek's bastard son when I see him!" She spit the words out like they were burning the insides of her mouth.

"Mother!" Mulder cried horrified. Knowing full well where Alex had been raised and in what conditions. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

As for Alex, he simply stood there and stared at Mrs. Mulder stunned. How could she possibly know his mother? He himself had only known her name, but had never even seen a photo of his mother. And as for his father, Alex had no idea who it was, even to this day. 

Mrs. Mulder rubbed at her temples, she could feel a migraine coming on. "Alexander Nicholas Petr Krycek." She said, "Named for his three Russian uncles; his mother's brothers. Born on August 24, 1962 in the City of New York." 

Just from reading the expression on his lover's face, Mulder knew that Alex had never heard about any Russian uncles before and he didn't need to touch inside the other man's mind to fathom that. 

Mrs. Mulder continued to rattle off the facts. "Mother: Natalia Elena Krycek. Father: William Mulder." She could barely say 'William Mulder' and it came out as a half croak.

Both Alex and Mulder said "What?" At the same time. Mulder shook his head, "Mom, I don't understand. What are you playing at?" 

She turned to Mulder, "Natalia Krycek worked in the state department with your father. She was his personal secretary and they had an affair and Bill had the audacity to think that it was some big secret. But a woman always knows. We had just celebrated your first birthday a few months earlier and when I found out I confronted your father. He swore to me on his life that it was over. Then later on, when I was carrying Samantha, I found out that not only did Bill lie to me and not leave that Russian whore..." 

Mulder winced at Alex's mother being referred to as a whore. He was really surprised that his mother would even use such defaming language. 

"...but he also sired a child with her. That child is you Mr. Krycek." She swept her eyes up and down him. "My god you look so much like her that I knew who you were the instant I laid eyes on you. The shape of your eyes and your facial features,... is all Natalia. Yet the colour of them and your brown hair clearly comes from Bill. Your mother was blonde." She shook her head and her mouth formed a thin line of disapproval for the man. 

Alex continued to stare at Mrs. Mulder. His eyes were wide with surprise and Mulder could see the troubled emotions hiding behind them; confusion and bitterness. 

Teena swallowed hard. "Before Samantha was born, you were two I suppose Mr. Krycek," She said coldly, "...I gave Bill an ultimatum," She turned and spoke to her son. "I told him it was me—his faithful wife, loving son and unborn child or that tart and her bastard boy. Your father chose me and you and Samantha." She sounded almost triumphant to Mulder ears, "Natalia committed suicide after Bill finally called it quits with her. Carl Spender stepped in and sent him,..." she indicated with her head in Alex's direction, "Back to Russia where he belonged so I wouldn't have to be reminded of Bills indiscretions"

Shaking his head, Mulder was trying to absorb everything that had been said. "You mean all these years, while I'm pining away for my missing sister, wondering about family... I had a brother out there the whole time and no one..." His voice began to rise with his ire, "... bothered telling me about it! How dare you!" He was disgusted with both his late father and his mother. 

Mrs. Mulder stepped up to her son and slapped him hard across the face. "Don't you ever put _him_ ," meaning Alex, "...and you in the same sentence as the word brother... Biologically he is your half brother. No more..." Her anger just as apparent as her sons'.

Mulder raised his hand and touched the slap mark left by his mother; his flesh hot under his palm. 

"I will never accept this... man... into my life Fox. Just looking at him makes me sick to my stomach. He represents all that was wrong with my marriage. Because of his mother and him, my family was almost torn apart. We used to be happy, especially after Samantha was born. Until she disappeared and there no longer seemed to be a point in going on." Teena pointed Alex, "His mother was the downfall of my husband, my marriage and my home, and I want nothing to do with him!"

"Mother, don't say that. Listen, you have no idea what's going on here. Please. Let me explain a few things about Alex,."  
Mulder tried to talk to his mother, but she cut him off by raising her hand. 

"No Fox. It's him or it's me, but there isn't room for both of us. It's your decision." She turned away and brushing by Krycek, she ran out of the apartment. 

Alex stood there feeling like he had just been kicked in the guts. Old wounds and emotions from his life in the orphanage bubbled to the surface. He had no knowledge what-so-ever about anything Mrs. Mulder had spouted. And it wasn't fair, in his opinion.   
Alex scowled and vowed to himself to kill Carl Spender, all he could hope for now was that the old smoke stack was still among the living so he could shoot him. Alex turned to Mulder, whom, in his mind had the appearance of a man who had eaten a bad batch of shrimp at the wedding buffet.

"So did you know about dad all along... Krycek?" Mulder asked, feeling absolutely nauseous. For a minute there, he wondered if Alex might not be a plant after all and his memories—the one's he had been reading without permission—were planted and false after all. 

Horrified by Mulder's accusation, Alex said emotionally, "No. God no." His voice broke, but he shed no tears. "I had no idea we were... were... brothers." He took a step toward Mulder, who took a step back. 

"No! Don't... don't touch me." Hissed Mulder. His stomach was in turmoil and it kept rolling over and over. All that he kept replaying through his mind was that for years he had been in love with his own brother and for two weeks, he had been intimate with him.   
Mulder couldn't believe that when he had finally found his soul mate and worked up the courage to be with that person, his true love was not only a man but his brother on top of it all. The gods were definitely conspiring against him.   
Suddenly his stomach heaved and his gorge would not stay down any longer. Mulder ran to the bath room where he barely got the door shut before bending over the toilet and vomiting violently into it. 

Alex stood there, staring at an invisible spot on the floor. More confused and hurt now than he had ever been in the past. It had crushed him when Mulder's beloved mother had called him a _'bastard'_ born to a _' whore'_ among other things. The put downs had hurt him, but he was used to those and finding out that the only person he would ever love was in the same DNA group as he had also thrown him for a loop.   
But after Mrs. Mulder had left, for him to see the look of complete disgust on Mulder's beautiful face, that was what had hurt the very most. And now to have to hear Mulder vomiting over what they had done together... Alex knew that it was he and their freakish relationship that was making Mulder sick. Simply put—he turned Mulder's stomach now.  
Rather than giving Mulder a chance to decide between mother and brother/lover, Alex decided to take the choice away by leaving, though he suspected that Mulder's mother would win out over him anyway.   
He heard the toilet flush and the tap turn on. Stung and angry, Alex turned around and hurried from the kitchen. He grabbed his jacket off of the couch and flung the door open, running past Scully without even acknowledging that he had seen her. He hurried down the semi-dark corridor not looking back. 

Scully, startled by Krycek's sudden appearance at the door, stared after the rushing man for a minute, wondering what was going on. Then she shrugged her shoulders and went into the apartment, accepting the wide-open door as an invitation to enter the premises. She walked into the kitchen looking for Mulder and seeing that he wasn't there she turned toward the small hallway. She stopped and stood where she was when she her former partner's voice. 

"Listen Alex, " Mulder said stepping out of the bathroom, wiping his face with a small towel. "We'll work things out... somehow... one way or an..." He stopped speaking mid syllable when he saw Scully standing there. "Where's Alex?" He asked her. 

"He left. I passed him as I was coming in." Scully said "What's going on?" 

Mulder molded his face into an expressionless mask and said casually, "We had an argument." Pleased that he had managed to make his tone of voice even and nonchalant. 

Scully looked around the room. "About what?" She asked just as casually as Mulder had been. Although now she was really curious to know what was going on now. 

"Him. Me. Us." Mulder replied dejectedly as he flopped himself down on the couch and buried his face in his hands. Every thing was so fucked up now. Mulder didn't care who knew about him and Alex, he just didn't have the strength to keep their _affair_ a secret. 

Suddenly, it hit Scully and all the little clues that she had seen lately added up to one big solution. She couldn't believe that she had not guessed earlier. Especially when Krycek was still recuperating from the infection early on, Mulder's reluctance to leave Krycek's bedside had been a gigantic hint.  
She was really surprised to find out that Mulder was finally in love. Discovering that it was another man that he loved was not as startling as who the man was that he loved.  
Loving another man, well that was no big deal, that part she was okay with. But to fall for the likes of Alex Krycek, now that seemed impossible.   
She dropped down in the arm chair across from her former partner and asked bluntly, "Are you sleeping with Krycek?" She tried to sound neutral but she couldn't quite keep the disgust out of her voice. 

Mulder snapped his head up. "Yes." He said firmly, not ashamed. "And you don't have to say his name like it leaves a bad taste in your mouth." He stated, his tone becoming a little harder. 

"JESUS CHRIST!" Scully said as she jumped up and started pacing the tiny sitting room. 

"What?" Mulder said sarcastically. "Freaked that I'm gay Scully?" 

She stopped pacing and glared at him. "No. I assumed something was up a long time ago. But Krycek?" She stared at him. Amazed that she even had to say it. "Krycek is... he's..." She could hardly decide on which of the many slanderous euphemisms that came to mind while describing Krycek, so she settled for, "... he's street trash Mulder. A cockroach who did the bidding of the destroyer of mankind. He's toxic. The sooner you come to your senses and realize that... the better. He's done nothing but cause you pain and misery. And I can't even swallow the fact that you would consider sleeping with him, let alone... love him." 

Mulder stood up too, he had never felt angrier at Scully than he did right now. How could she say such things about Alex? Especially when she had no clue as to what was in the Russians' head or his heart. Mulder knew the real Alex Krycek, and the true reasons why he had been the errand boy to a group of old, evil men.  
Scully was assuming the worst about Alex before she even had all of the facts and Mulder resented that. He realized now, that Alex had been right that day in the kitchen after the beating when he said that he wouldn't be accepted.   
Scully would never change her mind about Alex; she would not _allow_ him to change. Mulder breathed deeply, trying to control his anger. "Thanks for the advice Scully." He said evenly, back in control of his temper again, "But who I fuck is none of your business." He deliberately used graphic language, knowing that she didn't care for such profanity.

Not one to be intimidated, she said simply "Oh?" Thinking that it was very much her business since it was the accomplice in her only sisters murder that Mulder was screwing.

"Yes. Considering how long you've been sleeping with our fearless leader Dana." Mulder stated. 

Scully quickly closed the distance between, and for the second time in a half an hour, Mulder had his face slapped. He just stood there staring at her and she at him.

Then Scully whirled around and walked out, slamming the door loudly behind herself. She leaned against the closed door for a moment and collected her self. She was stunned by Mulder's confession and equally surprised that he had known about her and Walter; both of them had thought that they were extremely discreet. 

As soon as his former partner had left the room Mulder plopped back down onto the couch and buried his head in his hands again. He couldn't believe how shitty his day was going. First his mother, then Alex and now Scully had all walked out on him.   
But he was not too concerned about his mother, he would go to her later and try to explain things to her. And as for Scully, well they to, would work things out; they always did.  
It was Alex who worried him at the moment. After all, the bomb his mother had dropped affected him to. The poor guy hadn't even known who his father was up until thirty minutes ago.   
Alex had never known about the circumstances surrounding his birth; no one had ever bothered telling him. The Russian could not control the hows' or the whys' pertaining to his birth. He had no choice in the matter, in fact growing up, Krycek had never been given a choice, in anything.   
Mulder groaned, everything was such a mess. Alex had walked out on him and Mulder didn't know what he was going to do. After he had been sick, when he was washing his hands, he had realized that Alex must have felt the same way as he did, only he didn't express it by puking his guts out.   
Try as he might, Mulder could not just shut off his carnal love for Alex and as perverted as it sounded, Mulder realized that he didn't want too.  
It was not as if they had ever lived as siblings, in fact, they had never even met on another until six years ago. "So what's so wrong with being in love?" Mulder asked himself.  
He laughed at that thought. He was so fucked up.   
And then he thought, "Alex must be too. Poor guy probably didn't know what to think, except that I was rejecting him. How could he not? Especially with me in the can spewing."   
Mulder wanted Alex to come back, that much he knew for sure. The details of their shared parentage didn't matter, nothing did. Not Scully and her opinion, not his mother and her opinion. He loved Alex and wanted to be with him. They were happy together and brothers or not, no one had a right to tell them that their love was wrong.   
"Besides," he reasoned to himself, "there aren't enough people left to give a shit whether or not we're incestuous."   
Mulder mused over these thoughts and others; deciding that he no longer cared what other people would think. He just wanted to be happy, he had a right to be. And if it was Alex Krycek who made him feel that way then so be it.   
Reaching out, he quietly touched the inside Alex's mind, breaking his promise easily. 

He could feel the younger man's anguish over the situation acutely, along with his despair. Mulder could also feel that Alex still loved him deeply and completely; not in just a brotherly way either. But he believed that Mulder no longer wanted him around.  
Mulder kept concentrating and he picked up on some of Alex's other, more subtle emotions. He could feel Alex's self-doubt about his own worthiness in society, along with the pain of just not fitting in anywhere. Alex was despondent over having not only been lied to his whole life, but living a complete lie.   
The Russian didn't know what he should do—leave the F.B.I. building or crawl back to Mulder and beg to be a part of his life, on any terms and in any capacity that Mulder wanted.

Shaking his head sadly, Mulder left Alex with his own private misery only because he himself felt the same or close to it. He also knew that Alex would not appreciate the intrusion—again.  
Mulder stood up, his mind finally up.   
Half brother or not, he and Alex would continue to be lovers', no one ever had to know. Mulder was pretty sure his mother would not be blabbing that fact out any time soon. He pulled himself together and just as he was about to leave to go and find his lover, there was a soft knock on the door. Half hoping it was Alex, Mulder pulled the door open. To his disappointment it was not his lover, but Kelly, the young woman who worked in the gardens with his mom. Hiding his feelings under a false smile he said to her, "Hi Kelly." 

"Hi Mr. Mulder." The effervescent blond replied. "Is Alex home?" She blushed slightly when she spoke Alex's name.

"No, I'm sorry Alex isn't here right now." Mulder couldn't help but smile, for real this time, at her. Her crush on Alex was obvious if not sweet. Mulder surmised that his lover probably had no idea that the pretty 22 year old had feelings other than friendship on her mind for him. 

Her disappointment was apparent. "Oh okay." She said. "I'll try again later." Though she really didn't have time later to come back.

"Is there something I can help you with?" He asked. 

Kelly brightened a bit and said, "Well Alex was in the garden this morning and begged me for some strawberries, even though they're being rationed right now..." 

Mulder could see that she was replaying the conversation in her mind, "... he said he wanted the berries for you and Mrs. M. That they were your favorites." 

Mulder hadn't realized that Alex knew that about him. 

"Well... I finally gave in and let him have some extra berries and then he asked me if the raspberries were ready yet because they were his `faves..." 

Mulder didn't know that either. Anxious to go to Alex, he fidgeted with the door knob. 

Kelly saw his actions and realizing his impatience, she hurried her story along, "... Well after he left I checked the raspberry canes and managed to pick a basket for him..." She presented the small green palm size basket to Mulder and blushing again she said, "I thought he might want them for dessert or something..."

Mulder smiled and accepted the _love_ offering on behalf of Alex. He to the young woman kindly, "Thanks Kelly. I promise to give them to Alex when he comes home. I'm sure he will want to come down and thank-you personally later. 

Kelly grinned and flipped her straight hair back over her shoulder. "Thanks Mr. Mulder. I appreciate that." 

Mulder closed the door. He put the berries along with the other food from the canvass bag into the fridge so that it would not go bad. When he was done, Mulder left the small apartment to go to the one place he knew Alex would be. Back to the surface to the office where they had both first laid eyes on each other.

* * *

_"You don't know the first thing about me!"  
Alex Krycek._

Mulder rounded the corner to the doorway of the abandoned bullpen and stopped. Hr stood still for a moment and looked around. Suddenly he was hit with a strong wave of nostalgia mixed with loss as he recalled all of the people that he had worked with, at one time or another over the years who had not survived the viral holocaust. It no longer mattered whether or not he had liked the people or they him, he was still saddened by their deaths none the less.   
With one last wistful glance at the empty desks, Mulder passed through the threshold into the large room and crossed to the other side. In a small alcove, sitting cross-legged atop of an out of the way desk, was Alex. Mulder saw him first and stopped; his presence partially hidden by a filing cabinet. He observed his half brother from a close distance, noting that Alex had chosen the very same desk to sit on that Mulder had used way back in '94.   
Alex was wearing only his T-shirt, even though it was very cold in the room, he had tossed his jacket carelessly over the back of a nearby chair.   
Perched in the very middle of the desk top, Alex's head was bent and was concentrating intensely on the task that he was performing. Which meant that he was busily cutting neatly into the tender skin on the inside of his left forearm, using a Swiss army knife to make the incisions. The cut he had just finished creating matched three others that he had made in the same area.   
All four cuts were about one inch length and ran vertically up his inner arm. The cuts were deep and all were bleeding copiously. Mulder was concerned by the wounds, but he assumed that the Russian was probably an expert at hurting himself in this way. So Alex most likely hadn't hit anything major; or the blood would be pumping out instead of merely running out like a dripping faucet. 

Alex's gaze was transfixed on the bright red liquid, seemingly mesmerized by the crimson rivulets. He neither saw nor heard Mulder standing there watching him. 

Mulder took the opportunity to watch Alex for another minute, profiling his lover/new brother as he did. Cutting into one self was not something a fully grown adult usually did. It was more of a behavior indicative of an adolescent.   
However, Mulder understood the physiology behind the self inflicted wounds very well. By cutting himself, Alex, unable to find the right words, was expressing what he felt on the inside by physically showing it on the outside. Alex had no control over the most recent turn of events, so he chose to take control of what he could and let his blood flow. The way he hurt when he was cut and bleeding, Alex at least could understand the pain, it was tangible, real. And in someways perhaps, even a little cathartic for the confused Russian.

Mulder continued to watch Alex, until the younger man raised the knife to make a fifth slice into his new arm. Stepping over to Alex quickly, he gently took the knife away from him. "I think you've done enough damage to the merchandise." Mulder said. "Don't you?" Trying to affect his best psychologist tone.

Alex brought his head up and stared at Mulder. His eyes were moist but the tears had long since ceased in falling. "What are you doing here?" He asked dully, ignoring the blood dripping over both sides of his left arm.  
Bringing up his hands, Alex rubbed at his sore eyes with the heels of his palms. After he had blinked his vision clear he said coldly to his lover, "I thought that I made you sick to be around."

Reaching to a nearby shelf, Mulder pulled several tissues out of a box— impressed that even after all of this time they had stayed relatively intact— then he grabbed Alex by the wrist firmly and held the resisting man's arm still. He pressed the kleenex to the cuts and as he applied pressure he told Alex what was in his heart.   
"Alex, listen... no listen to me..." He said as Alex tried to pull away, "...Please." Alex stopped struggling and Mulder had him take over holding the tissues.  
"I wasn't sick because of _you_ , but because of the new spin that's been put on our relationship. 

Alex looked up to Mulder, hope creeping onto his handsome face.

"I doesn't matter what my mother said. I mean it's not like we even knew each other as children..." Mulder reasoned. 

Krycek nodded his head but remained silent. 

"...For lack of a better example, you're imprinted on me Alex, as my lover... my true love... not as my sibling." Mulder couldn't quite bring himself to say 'brother' besides. He didn't want to keep reminding himself of the fact. "I don't care that were swimming in the same gene pool... Aberrant or not... I love you Alex Krycek and I won't do with out you. That is if you still feel the same way about me?" 

Mulder knew before hand from reading his thoughts how Alex felt, but he still wanted to give him the option of backing out of their fledgling relationship. 

Uncrossing his legs, Alex tossed aside the blood soaked tissue and scooted to the end of the dusty desktop. He answered the question by reaching out and wrapping his arms around Mulder's thin waist and pulling him in close for a tight hug. He rested his head against Mulder's grumbling stomach, the noises brought a brief smile to his lips.  
"Oh Fox..." He said finally. "I was so afraid that you'd leave me."

Mulder automatically put his hand on Alex and petted his soft, fresh smelling hair. "I could never leave you Alex. If this ...little revelation couldn't split us up nothing will." Mulder stopped stroking and wrapped his arms around Alex's head and hugged him back tightly.  
"You and I will be together forever..." He said, leaning down and absently kissing Alex at the crown of his hair, adding softly, "...keeping our dirty little secret between us..."

* * *

  
[email removed]   
AUGUST-1999   
PAIRINGS: Alex Krycek/Fox Mulder.   
RATING: NC 17—-Contains explicit depiction of sexuality between men. As well mention/depiction of an incestuous relationship. If this is not for you then, please, turn back now. You have been warned. Any flames... will be used to start my bar-be-que. All sincere criticism welcomed.   
---


	3. Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is an A.U. story featuring Mulder and Krycek along with a few other X-files characters. The story takes place in the year 2001and on the premise that an early invasion has already happened, with disastrous results. A virus released by the aliens has backfired and ended up killing most of the earths' population instead of enslaving it. However, there are still a few survivors here and there. Also, a civil war being fought between the rebel shape-shifters/faceless ones and the small, intelligent greys. For now, the aliens are for the most part, ignoring the surviving humans as they have their hands full with fighting. Mulder, Skinner, Scully and the LGM along with some others have all survived the deadly virus and now live below the FBI building. Skinner is, by default in charge of the small group of people living in the shelter. Alex Krycek was caught and taken captive by the shape shifters while trying to steal the E.B.E. For the last year, he has been the victim of many painful experiments that the aliens performed on him. One of which resulted in his left arm being grown back, in a very painful process that took an entire year to complete.

Go to notes and disclaimers 

**Part III**

  
_"I was just thinking what a man said to me... that the... that the dead speak to us from the beyond the grave. That, that's what conscience is." Dana Scully._

Teena Mulder, dressed in her best out fit, the one that she had been wearing for lunch with her son when they had been forced underground, washed down the last of her stroke medicine with a large glass of ice cold water. In all, she had taken over fifty pills, in three separate mouth fulls. She put the glass back on her stand and lay back comfortably; patiently awaiting for her long dead husband to call her back into his arms. Maybe now in death, they could finally find the happiness that had alluded them during their married life together.   
As she waited for the medicine to take her, she stared up at the plain grey ceiling above her head and thought about her only son. When Bill's bastard son had come into the kitchen all cheer and smiles, she had seen Fox's face light up immediately. That damnable Russian had cast a net over her only son and reeled him in. Very much like Natalia Krycek had done to her husband; the boys' life time ago.   
She wondered what it was with the Krycek's that gave them the ability to steal that which was not theirs to take in the first place. It seemed that not only did the mother and son Krycek come out on top, but both ended up looking like the victim too. After she had told Fox about Alex and their real relationship to each other her son had looked horror stricken at the revelation while the Krycek boy had simply looked like a frightened rabbit waiting for the eagle to strike him dead.   
Immediately after she had delivered up her ultimatum, Teena could see that her beautiful boy would choose his new found brother over her; his long suffering and secret keeping mother. And why not? Fox could finally be loved by a family member who did not hold Samantha's abduction against him. Contrary to what Fox believed, she genuinely did not know the real truth behind Sam's disappearance, only that the men of the syndicate as well as her husband were somehow behind it all. And try as she might not to, she still could not stop herself from laying some of the blame on her son for not doing more to try to stop her baby girl from being stolen.   
Teena Mulder had no idea that there was carnal love between her son and Krycek but she could tell that there definitely was 'something' between them. And, in her anger she had further fueled that 'something' by revealing what she knew. It was not a secret to her that Fox had always wanted a brother and now he had him.   
Her son no longer needed her; it was time to go. Teena yawned and started to feel sleepy, signaling the end was fast approaching. Reaching out she plucked the picture that she had sitting at her bedside of Samantha and Fox as young children. Clutching the old photograph tightly to her bosom, she prayed for forgiveness from both her son and daughter.   
With sleep finally claiming her and with her children laying over her heart, Teena Mulder crossed over the threshold of the living into the world of the dead. Right into Bill Mulder's warm embrace. 

* * *

Mulder turned off the water in the small shower before kneeling down between Krycek's splayed legs. He looked up at the younger man, gave him a quick, lascivious grin then swallowed down his hard cock right to its root.

Alex inhaled noisily with pleasure, his fingers automatically tangling with Mulder's wet hair. 

Mulder thought that sexuality oozed from every one of the Russians' pores. He wondered if it was this, the same kind of erotic sensuality, that had drawn his father so irresistibly to Alex's mother. Maybe she was the same, and if so, well the junior Mulder could see how his father had been unable to resist the charms of the beautiful Russian woman. He himself, had certainly been unable to refuse Alex's own irresistible magnetism. The younger man seemed to have a natural ease with sex and Mulder knew that, that particular trait certainly hadn't come from his side of the family. After a minute, he pushed these thoughts aside, and concentrated on trying to keep up with deep throating Alex without choking himself. 

Closing his eyes, Alex threw his head back far enough to touch the shower wall behind him. His spine was arched sensually, forcing his hips and considerable erection forward, directly down Mulder's throat. Having already abandoned Mulder's hair, his right hand was gripping the side of the soap dish tightly, steadying his body in the small, slippery cubicle. All the while using his left hand to play roughly with his own chest and nipples and mumbling in Russian. Random musings came and went quickly through his mind, all of them instantly forgotten when Mulder stuck his tongue directly into the slit of his cock. "Oh fuck yeah... " He uttered in English.

Mulder gently fingered Alex's tight opening and when it was sufficiently loosened, he slipped his index finger in all the way. 

Alex jolted and pressed his hips out farther, his spine taking on a greater degree of arch.  
Watching Alex closely, Mulder grinned to himself; not the easiest thing to do considering his lips were still wrapped around an erect cock. He amplified the suction his mouth was applying and while one hand vigorously pumped over Alex's cock the other matched the pace and drew the single invading digit in and out of his lover.

"Oh, yessss... " Alex mumbled coherently.   
'Fuck yeah and oh yesss,' those were the only words that Mulder had understood, as the rest of his lover's whispered ramblings had all been in the Russian dialect.

Changing tactics, Mulder pulled his hand away and used only his mouth in which to pleasure Alex. He used his newly freed hand to grasp Alex's heavy sac; squeezing the soft genitals firmly. Both of his hands and his mouth work in sync with each other now and when he felt the skin encasing Alex's balls tighten and the surface become rippled, he knew that his partner was ready to ejaculate. Mulder applied more pressure to Alex's inner gland and then pulled his mouth away, just in time for the younger man to released his seed all over Mulder's chest, neck and chin.

"Fox!" Shrieked Alex, as his knees straightened and then locked with orgasm.

Mulder released Alex, then stood up and kissed the panting Russian deeply. Smiling when Alex murmured into his mouth that he was 'weak kneed'. "I bet." Mulder quipped as he twisted around in the tiny space and turned the water back on, giving both of them one last rinse... 

* * *

After they had finished showering and dressing, Alex prepared dinner while Mulder set the table. During dessert, as the men ate Kelly's raspberry offerings, Mulder told Alex about Kelly, the berries and her obvious crush on him. He was having fun in teasing Alex about the pretty young woman and even went so far as to playfully accuse Alex of being a shameless flirt. 

Choking on his desert and blushing furiously, Alex adamantly swore that he had not made any indecent advances toward her. "She is,.." He declared seriously, ".... after all, only in her early twenties." 

Mulder laughed and Alex and shook his head. The Russian was still stammering that his intentions were honorable when he finally clued in that he was merely being kidded. 

Later that evening, Mulder who had been keeping a personal diary of the events of the past year, has sat down and tried to accomplish some writing on his lap top. But he happened to look over his shoulder at Alex and his thoughts left his head. He was unable to resist the prostrate man as he performed the incredible, sexy task of reading a novel. Mulder quietly shut the lid to his computer and then leapt the three feet from his chair onto the bed, landing right next to Alex. 

"I wouldn't have started to get into a book if I'd thought you were only going to write for... " Alex glanced at the small clock on the night stand, "... twenty minutes." 

"Mmmmm. I couldn't concentrate." Mulder said while nuzzling at Alex's neck, who was trying to finish the sentence he had been reading. "I had other things on my mind... " 

Alex grinned and gave up no the sentence he had been attempting to read. "Mulder. Just let me finish this paragraph." He closed the book using his finger as a bookmark, pretending to ignore Mulder, who was now nibbling on his ear.

"Okay, okay." Mulder mumbled petulantly, slowly removing his lips from Alex's lobe. He snuggled in close to Alex and asked, "What are you reading any ways?" Reaching out, Mulder petted the Russians' semi-erection through his sweat pants.

Alex swallowed hard and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on what Mulder was asking him. "It's a Michael Slade book." He said finally.

Mulder, thoroughly enjoying himself, did not ease up with his ministrations. "That's pretty grisly fiction. Haven't you had enough death and destruction?" He gave the growing bulge beneath his palm a light squeeze.  
"It's about a serial... Oh yeah, just like that Fox... " Krycek lost his train of thought for a few seconds but then managed to pick it up again and finish his sentence. "....it's about the Mounties trying to find a serial killer... Ohhhh.." He groaned and tossed the book aside. "Besides,... " panted Alex, "It's your damn book!" Mulder and his talented fingers won out over the novel. 

Mulder laughed hard at that, Alex was right, it was him book after all. 

Alex took the opportunity of the momentary distraction and flipped Mulder over flat on his back and then lay directly on top of him. "Now,..." He said as he pinned Mulder's arms over his head, "It's my turn to fondle you..." Lowering his mouth to Mulder's he gently bit the older man's juicy, lower lip. 

* * *

The love making over with, both men laid close together, snuggled up tightly within each others arms and talked. Which, for some reason, seemed easier to do in the dark.   
First they talked further about Mulder's incredible gift of knowing what was in an others mind further but then eventually, the conversation turned to their father.   
Mulder had filled Alex in as much as he could about their dad, then found himself trying to assuage the Russians grief over having killed his own father in a forced act of 'patricide.'   
Hours later, all talked out, both men promised to never bring up the subject of their specific relationship ever again. Both agreeing that it was best to leave the skeletons buried, where they belonged. The events of the day, from the argument to the impassioned loving making sessions afterwards had finally taken its toll on Alex. He let out a big sigh and fully contented, fell asleep.   
Mulder kissed the top of his lover's head and pulled the slumbering man in closer to his body. He shut his eyes and with thoughts for no one other than Alex Krycek, Mulder drifted off too. 

* * *

**The Next Day**

_"Maybe we bury the dead alive."_ Dana Scully.

Mulder rapped on his mother's door, again, this time harder. Giving up on knocking he tried the knob and found that it was unlocked so he walked in calling out "Mom? Are you here?" He closed the door behind himself and started looking around for her. He had already checked the gardens and the med lab and knew for certain that she wasn't there. So she had to be home.   
"Mother, it's me Fox." He said softly as he pushed her bedroom door open. Poking his head inside, he saw that his mother was laying on the bed. For a second he had thought that she was napping, and he froze, not wanting to disturb her. But on a second glace he realized that her face was a ghostly white. Almost blue.   
Mulder screamed out "Mom!" as he rushed over to her bedside. He put two fingers to where her pulse point should be in her neck, he held them there for a seconds then yanked his hand away as if he had been stung. He could feel nothing at all. Her skin was cold to the touch.   
_OH GOD!_   
Mulder laid the palm of his hand against her cheek and it was then that he knew, deep down, that there was nothing he could do. She was already gone and he was coming to talk things out with her too late. Tears spilled from his eyes and with his vision blurred, he picked up the phone and pushed the two digit extension for the med. lab.

"Scully." Came the cursory greeting. 

"It's me." Fox said softly.

"Mulder." Scully could tell by the tone in Mulder's voice that something was not right. "What's wrong?" She asked him immediately. 

"Come quick, it's my mother. I think she's dead!" He said desperately. 

* * *

**Twelve hours later**

"Mulder are you sure you want to stay for his?" Asked Scully practically. By the time she had arrived at the apartment, there positively was no hope for Mrs. Mulder. She been dead for several hours. All that she could to do was the autopsy, for which she really thought that Mulder should not be present for. 

"Yes... No... I don't know." Admitted Mulder. 

Scully held the scalpel lightly in her fingers. This was the first time that she and Mulder had really talked since slapping his face and walking out on him a few days before. "Look Mulder, you know as well as I do that the Y incision is never pretty, especially when it's your loved one being cut open. Why don't you go back to your place? I'll call you when I'm done." 

Frowning at the thought of having to go back to his apartment, Mulder shook his head 'No'. He had been avoiding Alex ever since he had discovered his mother, and though Mulder knew rationally that none of this was Alex's fault, he couldn't help but feel that the younger man was in part, to blame.   
When he made no motion to leave, Scully shrugged her shoulders and penetrated Mrs. Mulder's flesh with her scalpel. 

Before she could go any further than sinking the tip of the knife in, Mulder had blanched at the sight of the stainless steel instrument poking into his mother. Turning quickly on his heel he rushed out of the room saying as he went, "I'll talk to you later... I gotta go... " 

Scully watched as her former partner beat a hasty exit from the cold, impersonal examining room. She glanced down at the regal woman on the table before her and filing away her personal feelings, she pushed the knife in and continued this time in earnest, with making the large incision. 

* * *

Several hours later Scully had confirmed her original findings. Mrs. Mulder had died by how own hand; suicide by ingestion of a narcotic. Scully had thought as much when she had first seen the older woman laying peacefully in her own bed. The empty prescription bottle along with the toxicology results gave her the answers as to how she died.   
Why she chose to die, well that was another matter. Leaving no note in which to explained her actions, Mrs. William Mulder, with a photo of her beloved children clutched possessively to her chest slipped away quietly into a peaceful, infinitious sleep. 

Scully looked at her watch and yawned. She had been up and dealing with Fox and Mrs. Mulder for over twenty- fours hours now, and as much as she needed to speak to Mulder, she also needed to sleep.   
Yawning again, Scully picked up the file containing the information and conclusions surrounding Teena Mulder's death and took it with her to her own living quarters. Everything inside of the file could wait six more hours. 

* * *

Alex was angrily jamming what few clothes and possessions he did have into a back pack when a knock at the door interrupted his packing. He thought about just ignoring the intrusive summons but he reconsidered and dropping his knapsack on the bed, went to answer the door.   
Alex knew that it wasn't Mulder on the other side because it was his apartment after all, so why would he knock to enter?   
He yanked the door open and was surprised to see Dana Scully standing there looking up at him expectantly. He stared back at her for a minute then stood aside and said blandly holding the door open. "Come in." 

She walked in and asked as Alex closed the door behind her, "Is Mulder home?" 

Krycek turned around, his face smooth and expressionless. "No." He said simply. "He's not." 

Dana's eyebrows went up in surprise, "Oh?" She said. 

By the way that she had said 'oh', Alex couldn't tell if she thought that he was lying or not. Suddenly, he resented her presence in the apartment and just wanted to be alone again.   
"Mulder... " he stated, "... hasn't' been back here since before his moth... " Alex stumbled on his words, but he took a deep breath and continued, "... since his mother passed away."   
"Oh?" Scully parroted again, this time with just slightly less sarcasm than before. "Can you give him a message for me then?" She asked Krycek, no politeness in her voice at all.   
"I'm sure..." Krycek said to her coldly, "...that you'll see him before me. So why don't you save it until then"  
He could tell by the look on the red heads face that she didn't appreciate being spoken too in that tone of voice and he could have cared less.   
"Now if you don't mind I'm busy." He added rudely, wondering why he ever worried about what she had thought of him in the first place.   
_Because it matters to Mulder._  
Alex tried keeping Mulder from his thoughts, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it.   
Scully took the obvious hint and left without saying another word, unintentionally slamming the door behind herself. 

Krycek walked back into the bedroom and picked up his knapsack. He reflected on how it easily it held everything that he owned in the world; his whole life fit into a two by two canvass bag. Shoving his toothbrush on top of his shirts, Alex belted the sack shut and slung both straps over one shoulder. He picked up his grey fleece kangaroo coat and tied it around his waist. Then with one last look around the tiny living space that he had shared with Mulder, he left the apartment. He'd had just three short weeks of happiness, but it was enough. Never before, could he remember ever having been happy as he had been for the last couple of weeks.   
He'd had small, fleeting moments in the past where he was happy, but all of those times involved Mulder. Alex had decided to leave, again, because this time he knew for certain that Fox must blame him for his mother's death. Mulder didn't say so verbally, he didn't need too, his actions did the speaking for him.   
Not coming home proved to Alex just how much Mulder faulted him. Alex thought that if Mulder was truly concerned over him then he would have read his thoughts—promise or not—and learned that he was intending to leave and then come back to the apartment; either to stop him or to help him pack.   
Alex had a plan. He wasn't just going to wonder the surface aimlessly. No. His plan, if it worked out, would ultimately make Fox happy again. Truly happy. He did, after all, owe Mulder his life. So the least he could do was try to find Samantha and give her back to him.   
At least Mulder would have the sibling he really cared about back. Samantha could not replace his mother, but Alex thought that it was a start, the two could mourn her passing together. After they were reunited Alex planned to make his own way in what was left of the world.   
But for right now he had to go and see the 'gunmen' to work out some travel details then, he was off to the armory for some protection against whatever and whoever was still living on the surface. 

* * *

"Alex?" Mulder called softly, as he peeked around the corner and into the bedroom. He knew full well that his lover was no longer in the apartment. But he refused to touch the Russians thoughts in order to try to find out where he was. Mulder had been and still was trying to avoid him. 

"Mulder." Scully called as she pushed open the un-latched door. 

Mulder turned around and went back down the hall, he was relieved to see that it was Scully standing in his living room and not Krycek. "Come in." He invited. 

"Are you alone?" She asked. 

"Seems that way." Mulder said, itching absently at one eyebrow. 

"I have the results of your moms autopsy. I came by earlier but Krycek said you hadn't been home." 

"Yeah?" Was all Mulder said. He didn't want to get into things with Scully especially where Alex was concerned. He sat on the couch and asked her, "What have you got?" Indicating with a nod of his head toward the file that she was holding. 

Scully sat across from Mulder and flipped open the beige folder and began to recite her findings, mostly from memory. Wrapping things up she said, "Your mother died because she ingested an intentional overdose of her stroke medication." She let the words sink in a bit before saying, "She took her own life...Fox..." Reaching, she grasped his hand. "...I'm so sorry..." 

Mulder nodded his head; powerless against the tears of grief from cascading down his cheeks. He knew the reason why his mother had ended her own life, and it hurt him, deeply. 

Scully continued, "Otherwise, she was healthy, except.." She hesitated. 

"Except what?" Mulder asked, brushing away the tears. 

"She had a chip in her neck Mulder." She ripped at some tape stapled to the edge of the file. The small metal chip, no bigger than the diameter of a pencil eraser, was stuck securely between two pieces of clear plastic tape. "Did you know?" She asked gently, fairly sure she already knew the answer to her question. 

"No." Mulder said dully, shaking his head at the revelation. "I didn't."

Scully put the evidence back into the file and closed it. She handed it over to Mulder and said, "I wonder if she even knew about the chip either?" She stood up after Mulder had taken the file and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know we've had some differences about some things, but I'm always here for you." She smiled down at the grief-stricken man, who smile wanly back up at her. 

"I know." He said, just a little bit sad as he patted the back of her hand. 

"Mulder." Scully couldn't believe what she was about to say. 

"Hmmmm." 

"Your mother took her own life for her own reasons. Nothing you or Krycek said or did made her do it. He's not the guilty party in all of this and neither are you. It was your mother's choice. Hers' alone." Scully patted him again and said, "I'll talk to you later."   
Then she left, amazed that she had defended Krycek, if only loosely. She had a sneaking suspicion that Teena Mulder killed herself because she knew the truth to her son's and Krycek's relationship. In a time of very little hope, people despaired easily and sought the drastic way out of a situation that they thought were otherwise hopeless.   
Perhaps Mrs. Mulder, unable to forgive her son for loving her ex husband's killer took the easy way out rather than to deal with complications of a gay son and his murderous lover. 

* * *

Mulder turned on his boom box, he needed to do some soul searching and for that, he needed music. Not bothering with checking what the cd was in the player, he pushed the start button and smiled at the song that had begun to play.   
How fitting that while he was contemplating, yet again, about he and Alex and their complicated relationship, that Phil Collin's soulful voice would be singing 'Against all odds'. Mulder could certainly appreciate the irony. 

_"How can I just let you walk away, just let you leave without a trace."_

Mulder could see Alex clearly, cutting into his own body with a knife to release his inner pain.

_"When I stand here taking every breath with you. You're the only one, who really knew me at all."_

He could feel how Alex had felt when he thought that Mulder was rejecting him that first time. His despair of not being wanted by his parents. 

_"How can you just walk away from me? When all I can do is watch you leave?"_

Mulder knew how Alex had felt over his lack of control over everything that happened in his life. And Mulder understood the Russian's attempt to control the whole big mess by leaving Mulder before he could be told to get lost. 

_"Cause we shared the laughter and the pain and we've even shared the tears."_

Clenching his fists tightly, Mulder could still feel Alex, that first night together, in his arms and crying because he could not save humanity from the colonists. 

_"You're the only one who really knew me at all. So take a look at me now, cause there's just an empty space and there's nothing left here to remind me, just the memory of your face."_

Alex's innate sense of loneliness despite being surrounded by fourty people. Mulder buried his face in his hands. How could he just let Alex go away? Again. Especially after he had declared to him that _NOTHING_ would ever keep them apart.  
_"Take a look at me now, cause there's just an empty space, but you coming back to me is against all odds and that's what I've got to face."_

He kept turning Scully's words over and over inside his head, and finally Mulder came to a conclusion. 

_"I wish that I could just make you turn around, turn around and see me cry. There's so much I need to say to you so many reasons why. You're the only one, who really knew me at all. So take a look at me now......"_

Sighing heavily, Mulder reached over and shut the music off. He cleared out all of his thoughts and reached out for Alex's. Discovering where his lover was; Mulder stood up and went to retrieve him from the armory. 

* * *

Alex clicked the safety on then jammed the loaded gun into the waistband at the back of his jeans. He had already carefully stashed away the spare ammo in his knapsack and had hidden two knifes on his person, directly next to his skin. "Thanks for fixing me up Josh." He said to the former F.B.I. agent, now in charge of the small groups weaponry. 

"No problem. Alex." Josh replied, smiling at the Russian. Josh had seen Krycek, once before, in the real world, before the plague. Alex had been in the bureau's cafeteria with Mulder eating a sandwich and laughing at something the laconic agent had said. Josh had been a rookie then, still in the academy training program and on a tour of the building.   
His eyes had rested on Alex and from across a crowded room, and he had been instantly attracted to the handsome agent. It didn't matter to him that the agent was a several years older than he.   
And though they had never even spoken, Josh after that day, always dated men, who resembled Alex; dark hair and light eyes. Never in a million years did he ever think that he would be standing this close to him. Of course, Josh had no idea of whom or what Krycek used to be. "Come see me anytime. I have anything you might need." He added. 

Alex looked up and smiled at the younger man. Pleased that at least someone had found him attractive enough to make a pass at. "Maybe I will." He replied lightly, knowing full well he wouldn't. But the flirting helped to take his mind off of Fox. 

"Gee Josh,... " Mulder said sarcastically, "... don't you have other guns to clean or something?" 

Both men were standing close to each other, face to face and each of them swung their heads around to look at Mulder, who was leaning against the frame of the door. And both of the men frowned in unison, but for very different reasons.

Mulder had tried to keep the jealousy out of his voice, but it was apparent, even to him that he had failed. 

"Can you excuse us please Josh?" Krycek said turning his gaze back to the young man. 

"Sure." Josh replied. He nodded his head to the other agent in acknowledgment and said blandly by way of a greeting, "Mulder." And then he left the two men alone. 

"Were not even broken up and you're already replacing me?" Mulder said. Angry with Alex and Josh; the adoring, much younger man. 

Alex frowned, and the lines cut deeply across the bridge of his nose. "He was just flirting Fox. It didn't mean anything." 

"No?" 

"No." Alex said again, this time more firmly. "Why are you here?" He asked. 

Mulder swallowed hard but he did not answer Alex's question instead he asked, "Why are _you_ here at the armory? I can't believe that you're walking out on us. How could you? My mothers' only been dead two days." He was still angry and still a little bit jealous, and he sounded it. 

"I thought after what happened, you wanted me to go. You certainly gave me that impression." Replied Alex, a lot calmer than he felt. He bent over and picked up his knapsack. 

"No." Mulder said softly. "I don't want you to leave. Where are you going to go to?" 

Alex shrugged his knapsack over his shoulders, answering as he made the weight on his back comfortable. "Once, while _they_ were experimenting on me, I heard a female voice. I was really out of it, _they_ had drugged up pretty good a few times back then. But I coherent enough to know that I'd heard a woman talking. I didn't recognize her at all, but then a man called out the name _Sam_ and she answered him The male's voice I did know. It belonged to Spender."   
Alex tucked a first aid kit into a large pocket on the side of his pants. "I know it was over a year ago, but I thought that if the smoker was referring to your sister Samantha then maybe she's still alive. I wanted to go and see if I could find her and if it was your sister I heard, then bring her back to you..." He hesitated for a second "...Well..." then he said finally, "...I just thought that you would rather have your real family here with you at a time like this rather than your bastard half brother and lover."   
He licked his bottom lip and sucked it into his mouth. He released it and said tiredly, "I'm just tired of the games Fox. You say 'go away', then 'come here.' I don't know what to think anymore." He stared into Mulder's unreadable eyes, and when it was apparent that Mulder was not going to respond to him, Alex turned around and started to walk away. 

Mulder watch Krycek for a second then quickly closed the distance between them. He grabbed Alex by the arm and spun him around violently. 

Alex flinched when Mulder had grabbed him, thinking that he was about to get hit again.

"Why didn't you mention this 'Sam' thing before?" Mulder asked in an accusing tone. 

"Because I'm not even sure, I'm right. It happened a long time ago when I was flying high on drugs. I just thought I would check it out first before getting your hopes up. That's all." He jerked his arm out of Mulder's vice like grip and scowled. "I don't even know if Spender or the woman behind the voice is alive anymore. I don't have the luxury of reading other people's thoughts. All I have to go on is a hazy memory of voices down the hall. I just wanted to surprise you Mulder, to cheer you up. If you couldn't come to me for solace over your mother, I thought at least you could go to your sister, if she were here."   
Alex shook his head and said with a hint of anger in his voice, "I can tell by the way your acting and from the tone of your voice, that despite all of your previous declarations, you do not in fact, trust me."   
He turned and started to leave but then he stopped and slowly rotated around. "Is there even an 'us' any more Fox? Was there ever? Or was it just the sex that you wanted?"   
When Mulder did not immediately answer him, Alex nodded his head and said knowingly, "I see. I guess not. Your love for me was only momentary I suppose; something that you could turn off and on. "   
Krycek searched Mulder's face, then whispered, "Good bye Fox. If I find Samantha I'll bring her back, other wise....." He left the sentence dangling and started stalking away. 

"No Wait. Alex." Mulder finally shouted anxiously. "I'm sorry. Please don't leave... me... " He couldn't bear to lose Alex again, no matter what came to pass. He had briefly contemplated just letting the Russian go, but then, when he thought that this might be the last time he would ever see him again, he just couldn't do it.   
Alex turned around but did not walk back, toward Mulder; his hardened expression softened when he saw the look on Mulder's face. Suddenly he stalked over to where Mulder was standing, and pulling him into a hug, he kissed him softly on the mouth.   
"Take care of your mother." Alex said huskily, "If Samantha can be found I'll find her and bring her back to you. I promise. Between the gunmen and myself, we have a pretty good place to start."   
"No." Said Mulder adamantly, refusing to let Alex escape from his embrace. 

"Fox. Either way, I promise to come back. We'll talk things out then." He kissed Mulder again, but still the former agent would not let him go. 

"Wait a few days Alex and I'll go with you. We'll find _our_ sister together." Mulder petitioned. 

* * *

_"Hey, when you go underground, you gotta learn to live with the rats." Alex Krycek._  
"Are you sure this is the place?" Mulder asked nervously, as the Russian was attempting to pick the lock to the front door of the posh Washington apartment building.   
"For the last time. Yes." Alex said, trying to concentrate. It had been a long time since he had been forced to break into a dwelling. "I'm sure. Langley and the boys did... well I'm not sure what they did but they thought that this would be a good place to start 'cause it shows that the penthouse has an independent power source, and this is where the smoke stack used to live. It would make sense to try here first... Oh fuck it!" Alex yelled, frustrated that the lock would not give. If the door had been a glass front, he would have merely stuck his elbow through it and unlocked the door that way. But the double doors, whose glass was long since gone, was sealed over with plywood. Alex braced his arms at the side of the door and began to kick at the strong sheets of lumber.   
Mulder stood there, amazed at Alex's recuperative powers. A month and a half ago he had been found half dead, starving and 30 pounds underweight. Now he'd put that weight back on plus some. Every day, Alex worked hard at recreating the muscle definition that he'd once had. Obviously the heavy leg weights were working, because on the sixth angry kick, the nails gave way about an inch. Mulder finally came out of his trance and joined Alex, and between the two of them neither the plywood nor the nails had a chance of holding up. 

"I always did hate picking a lock." Krycek said as he stomped over the boards and into the darkened lobby. 

"Well, if they didn't know we weren't here before, they do now." Mulder said dryly, following Krycek in. 

Alex looked over his shoulder and said, "You think anyone is going to hear us from 30 floors up?" He smiled and drawing his gun, he gingerly opened the door to the fire stairs. Taking a quick peek using a small halogen flashlight to light up the black stairwell, he made sure that no one was lurking in the shadows, waiting to kill them. Then he took the point and started up the stairs first.   
Mulder followed, but before he did, he propped the door open using a bit of splintered wood. Ensuring that if they had to run for it, they would be able to just shove the heavy steel door open and go, instead of fumbling with a knob. Using his own small flashlight, he followed Alex's lead. Thirty stories were a long way up.

When Alex had finally reached the top, a heavy wooden door separated them from stair well and the hallway of the penthouse suites. Krycek paused and waited for his partner. 

Mulder came to a stand still behind Alex and after a few seconds of silence he whispered softly into his ear, "Well? What are we waiting for?" 

"I'm thinking." Alex whispered back squatting down against the wall next to the door. 

Mulder grinned, "That would explain the smoke coming from your ears." 

Krycek groaned at the bad joke and Mulder reached for the door knob, but before he could grasp it, Alex stopped him by seizing his wrist. 

"What are you doing?" He asked. 

"Something's not right. Can't you feel it?" Krycek replied. 

Mulder shook his head 'no' and gingerly rubbed at his wrist where Alex had grabbed him. 

Krycek reached out and plucked a stray hair off of the fleece collar of Mulder's pullover. It was long and red, leaving little doubt about whose it was. And a good thing to, because both men now sported extremely short hair cuts and Alex definitely needed something longer than half and inch to perform his 'test.'   
He dangled the single hair over the top of the metal knob and immediately the red strand was attracted to it. Both men, completely silent, heard a small crackle as the current of electricity traveled toward the hair. Mulder looked at Alex puzzled. 

Krycek smiled and said, "Every other door has been steel, except for this one. It's made of wood and the knob is larger than the others. While I was waiting for you, I could feel the hairs on my neck standing up." He shrugged, as if it was no big deal to have guessed correctly and prevented Mulder from experiencing first hand, an execution.   
"Wow, you saved my ass." Whispered Mulder. "I could have been shocked." He kissed Krycek on the lips but pulled away before it could go any further than that. Between the two of them, it didn't take very much of anything before one or the other of them found an excuse to make love; again. 

Alex performed the same test with the hair over the hinges and thought that they were most likely not guarded by electricity. He pulled off one black leather glove and held it in his teeth, the he put an experimental finger on the surface of the hinge closest to the floor. 

Mulder hissed with a quick intake of air and was glad to see Alex still squatting and not laying on the floor trying to recover from mega volts of electrical current running through his body. He thought to himself that once this was all over with he was going to have to try and cure Alex of his reckless tendencies. 

"Good news... " Alex started to say. 

"Yeah. Your not fried bacon right now!" Whispered Mulder sarcastically. 

The Russian frowned briefly and ignored Mulder. He said instead, "I think it's just the knob that's juiced up. If we pull the hinges off, we should be able to get in no problem. Electricity won't travel through the wood." He reached into a pocket deep inside of his black fleece utility vest and came out with a small, flat head screw driver.   
He raised his eyebrows, "A boy scout is always prepared." He said to Mulder and then set to work on removing the long pins from the hinges. Like a doctor operating, Krycek just handed Mulder the pins without looking back, knowing that his partner was there to assist him. Once done, before actually pulling the door open, Alex turned around and asked, "You ready?" He pulled out his gun out from the holster. 

Mulder nodded back and said, "Ready." He stepped backwards a few paces so that his back was flat against the far wall. He held his automatic in the firing position, standing tall while Alex crouched low.   
Alex stuck the tip of the screw driver between the door and the frame and using the tool like a crow bar, the door swung open then fell with a crash. Nothing threatening to their relief, waited for them on the other side. 

"Thank god it wasn't wired for a bomb." Alex commented casually as he passed through the frame. 

"Now you think of that?" Muttered Mulder as he swept his light over two ominous looking wires that were leading from where the latch of the door met the frame. A large unit used for electric fencing appearing to be run by a generator, and was at the other end of the current carrying wires. Mulder knew that simply touching an electric fence alone would not kill you, but there some various other bits and pieces attached to the unit that he did not recognize. They were what probably made the whole getup lethal. 

"Are you coming or what?" Alex whispered loudly.

Mulder trained his light directly onto Alex's crotch. "Not yet, maybe later?" He joked.

"God, you are so funny!" Alex said rolling his eyes upward.

"Which door?" Asked Mulder when he got close to his companion. 

"According to Langley, and from what I remember, that one." Krycek pointed to the door at the end of the hall.

"Let's go do it." And this time Mulder walked the point. Both of the men were careful to stick very close to the walls, they swept their flashlights everywhere, looking for hidden booby traps and for watching and listening devices. 

They reached the door without any problems, and remarkably, Alex was able to crack the lock to the apartment quite easily; pleased that he didn't even have to kick this door in. He held onto the knob, but before he twisted and opened it he turned around to face Mulder who was standing behind him and said, "If Samantha does live here, she won't be the same person anymore. You have to be ready for the fact that she may not want to come with us."

Mulder nodded solemnly, "I know." He said and then it was his turn to restrain Alex from opening the door, "No matter what, Sam doesn't get hurt right?" 

Alex hesitated for a half second then nodded.. "Right." He said, and then he pushed the door in, but was prevented from going any further by two security chains.   
Alex shook his head, amazed this was all the hardware that was protecting the entrance especially, considering a shape shifter would be able to snap the stainless steel chains like they were made of soft gold links. Ready for anything everything, again Krycek fiddled inside his vest and this time, a small hand held metal snips appeared. He grinned at Mulder then deftly snapped the last two pieces of 'security' barring their way. 

The large penthouse was both quiet and dark, but Krycek could feel it in his bones that someone, besides them, was inside the place. He indicated with his hand that Mulder should go right and using his finger he drew a circle on the palm of his other hand, saying that they would meet up somewhere in the middle. Mulder nodded once and started to stalk silently through the darkness. Krycek did the same as he went to the left. 

Mulder froze and listened intently, he thought that he could hear the sound of shuffling of papers. He materialized from around a corner and to his surprise, saw CBG Spender. The old man had his back to him and was listening to a cd with headphones on. He seemed to be going through some papers; using only a small, dim light in which to read by. No wonder he and Alex had not been heard when they entered. The old man's ever present cigarette was burning away in a nearby ashtray, adding an unpleasant overall stink to the small, windowless room.   
Mulder watched the rise and fall of Spender's slightly humped back for a few seconds as years of anger bubbled to the surface. He double checked the safety on his gun then walked up to the man and stuck the barrel of his automatic into Spenders back.   
After poking him hard, once in the shoulder, he stepped back a few paces and waited for lucifer himself to turn around and face him. Spender brought his weathered hands up slowly and pulled off the head phones. 

Mulder could hear Verdi coming from the small speakers. "Easy." He said. "Put your hands on the top of your head." 

Spender smiled and did as he was told, then he turned around and directed his unsettling smile at Fox Mulder.

"Why Fox Mulder. How are you?" Spender seemed very unconcerned at having a high-power hand gun pointed at his chest. 

Mulder narrowed his eyes at Spender and said casually, "Ohhh, I don't know. Could be better, you see I've been a little depressed lately." 

"That's too bad. I'm sorry to hear that." Spender replied, just as casually. 

"Yeah, well a virus wiping out just about everyone on the planet might have something to do with it!" He clenched his teeth, determined this time not to let Spender get off as easily had he had done in the past. "Where's my sister?" He asked. "Alex says she lives with you." Mulder spoke to the old man like he knew it for a fact.

Spenders' false smile lapsed for just a second, and it was then that Mulder knew the old man knew her whereabouts. The smoker gathered himself together again and tried to change the subject. "Alex?" He questioned. "Krycek?" 

"You know goddamned well I mean Alex Krycek." Mulder said, letting his anger show. 

"The last time I saw young Alex he was busy getting probes driven down his tear ducts, in a very painful study of a humans endurance to torture. Obviously he managed to give the aliens the slip." 

Mulder could tell that the smoker was buying time. Trying to think his way out of the end of a gun muzzle.   
"Since when have you two been on first name basis?" Spender asked. 

"Since my mother informed me that we were brothers." Mulder took great pleasure in throwing that little secret back into his face. 

Spender's eyebrows rose in shock. He honestly thought that Teena would have taken that family secret to the grave with her, Bill Mulder had. He tried to compose himself. "Where's Krycek now?" He asked. Flicking his eyes left and then right quickly.   
"I don't know." Mulder lied easily. "Out somewhere looking for a cure to the virus." 

Spender started to ask another question, but Mulder out of patience, yelled at him, "Shut up!" Then he lowered his voice and said, "It's time for you to answer my questions. Now, where is my sister?" 

Spender smiled malevolently and said, "She's dead." 

"Fucking bastard. You're lying." His finger tensed on the trigger. 

"No Fox. I'm not." Spender saw the anguish in Mulder's eyes. He was enjoying himself and he knew that if he could keep the unbalanced former agent talking long enough, he would be able to worm his way out of this mess. Just like all the other times he had done in the past. 

"Then there's no reason not to kill you." Mulder was tired of Spender's mind games. 

"I can help you Fox. I can help you kill the aliens." Spender said anxiously, worried that Mulder just might not let him walk away this time. 

Mulder laughed sarcastically. He couldn't believe that the old man actually thought that he would trust him. Straightening his elbow out, Mulder shored up his aim, "You're not the boogeyman any more old man. _They_ are and guess what? _They_ scare me more than you do!" By now he was shouting again, and suddenly the man before him not longer held any of the playing cards. With a thought for Alex and all of his suffering, and for his sister and her suffering, Mulder swallowed and said, "I think you've destroyed enough of humanity. It's time to pay for your crimes." Mulder pulled the trigger without hesitating and the bullet passed cleanly through the old man's heart, killing him instantly. 

Spender fell from the chair and landed on the carpet in a crumpled heap, his large body making a soft 'thud' as he hit.  
Mulder lowered his gun to his side and stared emotionlessly at the corpse. He felt nothing. Not elation, not remorse, just nothing. He heard a soft click and spun toward the noise. The lighting in the room was very dim, and as he looked toward the direction from which the noise had come from, Mulder saw a dark-haired woman, emerging from the shadows of an adjoining room. 

She stepped through the darkened doorway aiming a gun with a silencer on the end if it, directly at Mulder.

Mulder wondered where Alex was, surely he had to be hiding, staying in the shadows and backing him up just in case. But then, he saw the look on the woman's face, it was contorted with rage and anger. Horrified, it struck Mulder suddenly that she must have found and killed Alex somehow, which could be the reason why she nor Alex hadn't appeared before now. 

The woman smoothed out her features and Mulder just stared at her, dumbstruck. Realizing with a pounding heart that he was looking at his long missing sister. 

"You just killed my father...." Samantha hissed coldly "....and now I'm going to kill you." She watched the unfamiliar man closely as he stared at her as if he was in a daze.  
Mulder was shocked into stillness at seeing his beloved sister; his emotions were running amok. He was amazed that Samantha was still alive and he knew all along that the old man was lying to him when he said she was dead; lying was what the smoker did best. It dawned on him that she had called that malignant old bastard 'Father.'   
As she stood there staring at him like he was a bug under a microscope, Mulder could not believe—would not believe—that she would actually shoot him. Though judging by the look on her face, there really wasn't any doubt that she intended to kill him. 

"Samantha. It's me, Fox. I'm your older brother." Pleaded Mulder in desperation.

"My brother is dead to me." Samantha said emotionlessly. "He stood by and watched while I was kidnaped. So if you're him, I guess I owe you this... " At the very same time as Samantha pulled the trigger, Alex had leapt out of the darkness and jammed a taser into her neck. The expended bullet went wild, the gun fell from Samantha's hand as she toppled forward, landing not two feet from her dead 'father.' 

"Fox! NO!" Screamed Alex, ignoring the falling woman completely and running to Mulder's side. He dropped to knees and was panicked when he saw that Mulder was bleeding profusely from the head. Alex wiped the blood away from Mulder's eyes and forehead. And to his extreme relief he saw that the bullet had not penetrated Mulder's skull at all, but had grazed him, deeply across his forehead, where the hair met the skin. "Fox. Fox. Wake up" Alex called anxiously as he gently slapped Mulder on the cheek.

Mulder's eyes fluttered and then finally opened. "Alex..You're alive... " He was sure that Samantha had shot and killed him. 

"Oh god Fox! I'm so sorry." Alex cried, pulling the bleeding man into his arms. "I was hanging back waiting to see what would happen. I didn't want to blow my cover... I'm so sorry Fox. I didn't think she would fire."

With Alex's help, Mulder sat up slowly. "It's okay Alex... " He said shakily, "It's not your fault." 

Krycek let Mulder go of and took a second to pull himself together. There would plenty of time to feel guilty later right now, his lover needed him. He tore open and velcro closed pocket on the side of his pants and pulled the first aid kit out.   
First Alex plucked a large compress and tore the packaging open, "Here," He said to Mulder, "... put this on the cut. I'll be right back." He pressed the thick cotton directly onto the wound and as soon as Mulder had his hand on the bandage, he crawled over to where Samantha lay, still unconscious. The first thing he did was to grab up her weapon and shove it inside his coat pocket. He hid away his taser in another pocket on his pants and then stretching, grabbed a corner of his first aid kit and pulled it toward himself.

"Alex?...did you?" Mulder couldn't bring himself to ask the question. 

The Russian turned around, and immediately understood what Fox wanted to know. "No Fox. No. She's okay. I promise. I tasered her when I realized that she was going to shoot you, brother or not." As he spoke to Mulder, Alex poked his finger through the various medical supplies and finding what he was looking for, picked it up. He bit the top off of a small vial containing a prepared, single dose needle and spit it carelessly out.   
He pulled the small syringe out and expertly pushed it into one of Samantha's large veins on the back of her hand. The drug in the dart was a strong narcotic meant to induce sleep. The clear liquid was automatically drawn into her bloodstream by her own body's natural pressure. Once that was done, Alex tossed aside the needle, rolled her onto her side and then went back to attend his lover.   
"Let me look at that." Alex said as he gently pulled the pad away from Mulder's forehead. As soon as he had done that the wound immediately began to bleed again. Alex got a good look at it before the cut was once again obscured by Mulder's crimson blood. The gash was five inches long and right to the bone, he was only consoled that the bullet had only torn the flesh and not penetrated deeper. The fact that the errant bullet had not entered Fox's hard skull was nothing short of a miracle. Still the wound was nasty and would have to be stitched, here in the field by him.   
"Sorry Fox." Said Alex, replacing the bloody pad. "That's going to have to get looked after before we take off."   
"Ohh, you mean we get to play doctor together." Mulder winked at Alex, even though it hurt him to do it. 

"Behave." Alex said, lightly slapping at the back of Mulder's hand before physically removing it from his crotch. None the less, he was pleased to see that Mulder at least had a sense of humor about all of this. He had Mulder lay back and used a cushion from the smokers chair to cradle his head from the hard floor with. It also propped up Mulder's head and made it easier for him to work.   
Alex pulled three packages of pre-threaded sutures out of the kit, along with an antiseptic liquid and a powder that topically numbed the skin. He searched and then found a small, single dose needle of Novocain, which would come in handy for when he did the actual stitching.   
First thing Alex did was to arrange everything that he would need on Mulder's chest, then he turned on the small flashlight and held it in his teeth like it was a large, Cuban cigar. The bright light made it so much easier for him to see the wound. 

When Alex had pulled on his latex gloves, it reminded Mulder briefly of Scully and the way she used to love to 'snap on the rubber', as he always used to say to her. 

Alex removed the pad and doused the still bleeding wound liberally with the numbing powder. He waited a few seconds for it to take effect then he picked up the Novocain and stuck the tip of the syringe directly into the raw, exposed flesh of the cut, making sure to put some in several places along the wound . 

Mulder flinched and grunted, but other wise the pain was not as bad as thought it would be. 

The Novocain worked quickly, and after only 10 minutes, Alex was able to begin the rest of his mending. He throughly cleaned out the gash with saline and antiseptic. Then using small the needlenose locking forceps, he picked up the first suture needle and began to stitch. He did not bother doing individual knots like a doctor would, but instead opted for a standard 'whip' stitch, where the threads were one continuous stitch drawn very close together. He did not have to knot and cut the silk until he was finished which came after he had completed twenty perfectly neat and even sutures.   
Alex applied another generous amount of antiseptic and after drying all around with gauze he covered up the cut. He gathered up the used and bloody medical supplies and tossed them into a corner; it wasn't likely that smokey was going to get up any time soon and complain about the mess. Then he helped Mulder to sit up and gave him a bottle of water to drink, along with two strong pills for the pain.   
"Well, I'm done. That should hold until we get back."   
Alex smiled at his lover and kissed Mulder in the middle of his forehead, just below the clean white bandage. 

"Now I'm sure to get better." Mulder teased, handing back the bottle of water to Alex. 

"Come on Fox, we need to get back to base. Both you and Samantha need to see Scully." He stood up, extended his hand and helped Mulder to stand up. 

Mulder swayed a bit, and Alex grabbed him firmly around the waist.  
"Whoa..." Alex said, "Just take it slowly." He led the slightly wobbly man to the wall and had him lean against it. "Here stay here and hold this while I get Sam up." He handed his flashlight to Mulder who took it.   
While Mulder got his bearings back, Alex searched for a few things to take for Samantha. He put her coat on and stuffed the few belongings he had gathered into a small canvass bag that he had found, figuring that if they missed anything this time around they could always come back, later.   
He handed the bag to Mulder and then squatted down and hoisted Samantha up and over the back of his shoulders. Alex was glad that he wouldn't have to carry her too far, only back to the ATV that they had hidden about a kilometer away from the building. From there she could be propped up in front of one of them for the trip home. The drug that Samantha had been given insured that she would not be waking up before the men reached the home base. 

* * *

On the return trip Alex couldn't help but think that Mulder was in for a big disappointment. If Fox thought that Samantha would accept him with out question back into her life, then he was sadly mistaken. She had been ripped from the only home she had ever known.   
Mulder had lost a sister who was a little girl and had her returned to him as a woman. There would be nothing left of that pig-tailed lass for Fox to remember. Not to mention that Samantha believed that Spender Sr. was her father. Therefore, she would see all others as a threat, traitors even. Mrs. Mulder might have been accepted by her daughter, but without her here to help ease the woman's way back into her brothers life, a harmonious reunion might prove to be impossible.   
In Samantha's eyes, Fox Mulder was a strange man who could not be trusted, not her blood sibling. Alex wished that he could spare Mulder the pain of finding all this out, but he could not. All he could do was to be there to help him through the inevitable fallout of the situation. 

* * *

SEPTEMBER-1999   
PAIRINGS: Alex Krycek/Fox Mulder.   
RATING: NC 17— Contains explicit depiction of sexuality between men. As well mention/depiction of an incestuous relationship. If this is not for you then, please, turn back now. You have been warned. Any flames... will be used to start my bar-be-que. All sincere criticism welcomed.   
Questions? Comments? E-mail me [email removed]   
---


	4. Part IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is an A.U. story featuring Mulder and Krycek along with a few other X-files characters. The story takes place in the year 2001and on the premise that an early invasion has already happened, with disastrous results. A virus released by the aliens has backfired and ended up killing most of the earths' population instead of enslaving it. However, there are still a few survivors here and there. Also, a civil war being fought between the rebel shape-shifters/faceless ones and the small, intelligent greys. For now, the aliens are for the most part, ignoring the surviving humans as they have their hands full with fighting. Mulder, Skinner, Scully and the LGM along with some others have all survived the deadly virus and now live below the FBI building. Skinner is, by default in charge of the small group of people living in the shelter. Alex Krycek was caught and taken captive by the shape shifters while trying to steal the E.B.E. For the last year, he has been the victim of many painful experiments that the aliens performed on him. One of which resulted in his left arm being grown back, in a very painful process that took an entire year to complete.

Go to notes and disclaimers 

**Part IV**

  
Scully dropped her glasses on top of the data that she had been collating and rubbed vigorously at her tired eyes. She had been studying the data for weeks now and finally had some solid answers. Coming to those conclusions seemed to be the easy part, the hard part was putting her findings down on paper in a language that the council could comprehend. She still had a few unanswered questions left and for those, she would have to seek out Mulder.  
Considering how unstable their previously rock solid relationship had been lately, her 'questions' might just split the two of them apart permanently. 

Grimacing at that, Scully thought, _Just one more thing Krycek's responsible for._

Glancing down at her watch, she saw that it was already past one in the morning. The meeting in which her findings were to be discussed was scheduled for ten a.m. and she still had a lot of writing to do yet. So yawning, she wearily put her glasses back on and readying her fingers, began to type. 

* * *

Alex looked at his watch. It was 1:15 in the morning, he hoped that Samantha was still awake. Almost every other night, when he couldn't sleep, he would wander across the shelter and visit his half sister. Of course he had not told her that they were related, both he and Mulder felt that it would be too much for her to take in; her psyche was still so very fragile.   
Why Samantha had agreed to see him, he wasn't exactly sure. Maybe it was because that she sensed that he too, was an outsider to the close-knit inhabitants of the shelter.   
She had adamantly refused to see Mulder at all costs, along with Scully. Though, at Alex's insistence, she had allowed one of Scully's assistants to examine her general health. Which was good. But both Scully and Mulder were banned from her presence. Right from the beginning, however, she had welcomed Alex even after he had told her the truth about his and Fox's relationship. Skipping over the bit about him and Fox being brothers of course. And Sam had accepted his honesty. 

Mulder had mused to out loud that she had allowed Alex into her life because though she had never met him, his name was at least familiar to her. 

Alex had promised Mulder to do his best in bringing her around, wisely telling his lover that all she needed was time and understanding, both of which he had plenty of.   
After all, he had been programmed, courtesy of the syndicate, to be a soldier; trained from early childhood for it. He knew what it was like to be at the mercy and control of others. 

Though Samantha had not been bent to the consortium's will by violence and brutality, but by love, she still was not that much different from Alex. Two very different methods bringing about the same results; two people so unsure of their own reality that they had to seek the truth others just to validate themselves. 

Spender had done his job, and done it well. He had successfully erased Samantha's memories of her real family and raised her believing that 'he' was her father. 

Alex Krycek understood his sister without even having to know her. 

* * *

He saw the light peeking out from under the front door of her quarters and after tapping softly, waited patiently for her to answer. A few seconds later the door cracked open and Samantha smiled softly. 

She opened the door wider and said, "Come in." 

"I didn't wake you did I?" Alex asked her as he walked in. 

"No. I was up." She pointed to an armchair that had a novel laying face down over the armrest. "See." 

* * *

She made him an instant coffee and then took the seat that she had previously been curled up in. 

As Alex sipped quietly at his coffee, it dawned on him that the late night sessions were just as therapeutic for him as they were for Samantha. He put his mug down and started the conversation. And after a half hour of small talk, Alex gradually led the dialogue into another direction. Slowly easing Sam into the real issues that she carried.   
Had Mulder been present, he would have been both surprised and pleased with Alex's natural abilities as a therapist. 

They talked some more and then Alex said to her simply, "Sam. I know." 

"You know what?" She replied, her voice afraid and her eyes wide. 

"I know what your 'father' did to you." He studied the fragile woman; she looked so terribly young then, even though she was 35 years old. Her large chestnut eyes immediately welled up and unbidden tears spilled over her delicate cheeks. And suddenly, twenty years of secrets became too unbearable to keep. 

Alex immediately went to Sam's side and gathered her up into a tight, secure embrace. He had only guessed that Spender had been sneaking into her bed at night. But the guess was wholly educated; based on some facts that he knew first hand.   
After all, Spender had started paying Alex midnight visits the day he had turned fourteen; the magic number. Like the young, still defiant Alex predicted so many years ago to the old man's face. And from the night of his birthday on, whenever Spender was at the orphanage/training centre, Alex was forced to endure his 'company.' The visits were neither friendly nor were they gentle. And they never, ever took place by the light of day. No, Spender always had Alex sent to his bedchambers in the middle of the night.   
And while a guard sat outside of the door listening to Alex's pleas and cry's for mercy, the old man would take the teenager brutally and always with some form of violence; punishing the lad for being so strong willed and outspoken. 

* * *

The first real barrier to bringing Samantha back into the fold had been torn down. "I know." Alex said softly rocking the sobbing woman after her confession of the abuse.   
"I understand exactly how you feel." A single tear rolled slowly down his cheek, for Samantha and for his own lost childhood as he kept on soothing his little sister. 

And it was then, that Samantha knew, without Alex even having to say the words, that he truly did understand why she was crying. She hugged him tightly and tried to give back to him some comfort, for the old wounds that had not fully healed for him either. 

Two hours later the tears long since dried, Sam was smiling and seeing her new friend out the door. She felt renewed, if not 100% better. The weight that she had been carrying had been lifted from her shoulders like a thick fog on an English moor.   
Alex was responsible for that, and it was something she would never forget. Samantha was feeling so much better that she had even agreed to see Mulder, to talk to him, soon. Though she wasn't quite ready just yet to face him. But none the less, she had promised Alex that she would meet with him her brother she was ready.   
In fact, she thought that she was strong enough to sit down tomorrow morning, and write her brother a letter, explaining some things to him. 

Before he left, Alex turned to Samantha and said to her, "Tonight was good for me too. I needed to be with you. But I haven't told you some important 'things' about myself. Really important 'stuff'. I can't tell you yet... But I promise to tell you one day... when were both ready. The thing is, I don't want you to be angry with me once you find out about me." 

Samantha squeezed Alex's hand reassuringly, "I promise to accept whatever it is... I don't mind waiting to hear your secrets." She kissed Alex's cheek gently, "Don't worry Alex," she said softly, "... whenever you're ready to tell me, I'll be here." 

* * *

_"Were not even yet, boy."_ Walter Skinner.

Alex left Samantha's apartment and started for his and Mulder's place. The halls were dark, if not a little bit eerie at this later hour. Sam was staying clear across the underground bunker from where he was living. It seemed living a solitary life, well away from the glare of others came naturally to the Mulder siblings.   
He turned his small flashlight on and started for home. Just about home, Alex pushed open the door to the stair well and started down the short flight. On the landing, between the floors, Alex was suddenly grabbed - again—this time from behind. 

_Great! Here we go again!_ He thought just before a leather shoestring type garrote circled his neck. 

Alex couldn't see who was holding the garrote, but by judging from the body odor, it was one of Skinner's minions, a man named Sparks. Krycek never did trust that shifty eyed guy, now he knew why. 

The only light in the otherwise dark stairwell landing came from Alex's flashlight. Which had been lost in the initial struggle and was now laying in a corner, shining in their general direction. Walter Skinner emerged from the shadows, Alex could barely see, but he recognized the former Director's large form easily enough. 

Alex's thoughts turned from Skinner, to preserving his life as he brought his hands up to his neck and tried to ease the choking effects of the garrote. 

Sparks knew his stuff though and he held the garrote with just enough pressure to subdue Krycek. Restricting the Russian's air supply, but not pulling tight enough to actually strangle and kill him. 

Skinner stood directly in front of Alex and gave him a malicious smile, then he hauled off and punched him, four times.   
Once in the stomach and three times in the face, all three punches landed close to each other up the left side of Alex's face.   
Skinner hit Krycek as many times as the Russian had hit him a few years ago; when the roles were reversed and it had been Skinner himself on the choking end of the garrote and Krycek doing the hitting. Done, Skinner nodded to Sparks who then released his hold on Krycek. 

Alex fell to his knees, and once again found himself gasping for breath at the feet of Walter Skinner. 

Squatting down, Skinner's arm snaked out and he grabbed Krycek by his short bangs. He reefed Alex's head back and forced the dazed man to look him in the eyes. 

By this time, Sparks had pulled his own flashlight out and was shining it on the two men. 

"I told you once, long ago, that we weren't even." Skinner licked his dry lips, "That other beating was for all of the other shit that you've pulled over the years. This one was for jumping me at the hospital that time and for the nano-bots." He studied Alex's face, noting that the place along the younger man's jaw line was already starting to bruise and a small amount of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. A bruise, matching his large knuckle marked the same corner of Alex's mouth as the blood.   
Suddenly disgusted by his act of retribution; Skinner shoved Alex away from himself and jumped up quickly to his feet. 

Alex cradled his tender, aching stomach beneath his hands. He was feeling lightheaded from all the gasping that he had been doing and tried to bring his panting under control. 

"Were done now... Boy... don't ever cross me again." Skinner hissed. Then with a final, remorseful glance at Krycek, Skinner and Sparks left. 

Alex stared after Skinner for a few seconds, then he got up and retrieved his flashlight. He checked the time on his watch. Mulder would defiantly be asleep by now.   
_Good._   
The whole ordeal had only taken five minutes and through it all, Alex had remained silent, what was there to say? He believed Skinner when he said that they were even now. Alex had witnessed the man's face flash, for just an instant, with regret for his actions.   
So he guessed that meant no more late night/early morning ambushes. Truthfully, Alex had half expected another thrashing. Anticipation was what killed the cat, not curiosity in the Russian's opinion. And now that it was over with, he could relax.   
Alex just didn't know what he was going to tell Mulder about the incident. He knew his lover would be pissed off and raise holy hell. But Alex really just wanted to drop the whole subject. Maybe he could hide the bruising and swelling for a few days.   
_Yeah, right!_   
Alex continued on his way to the apartment, and once there, he very quietly cleaned himself up. He popped a few aspirins for the pain and thanked his lucky stars that Skinner hadn't hit him harder, otherwise his jaw could have been easily broken. Alex suspected that Skinner had intentionally held his strong arm in check.   
Standing shirtless and staring into the mirror, Alex gingerly touched the line of purple that ran from the centre of his chin up the left side of his jaw bone, right to his ear. The mark in the corner of his mouth, stood out, perfectly round and violet purple. The abraded marks left by the garrote stood out and were as obvious as a string of pearls around a bare neck. 

There was no way that Mulder would not see the bruises. 

Alex flipped off the bathroom light and padded down the hall to the bedroom in complete darkness.   
There was no point in worrying about what Mulder would say tonight any ways and tomorrow would come soon enough. He pulled off the rest of his clothes and snuggled in behind Mulder. The men fit together nicely, just like two puzzle pieces. He sighed contented as Mulder's warmth slowly began to heat up his own chilled body. 

Mulder murmured, comforted by Alex's presence and settled back into sleep. 

Alex kissed the back of Mulder's neck and set his mental alarm clock to wake at 8:00 a.m.. Both he and Mulder had to meet with the council in the morning. Letting his lids fall closed, Alex was instantly asleep. 

* * *

**The Next Morning  
8:15 AM**

Mulder rolled over seeking Alex, and when he didn't immediately find him, his eyes cracked open.   
For just a second or two, he thought that Alex had not come home from Sam's place and a small ache of jealousy prodded at him.   
He himself had been working quite late with the gunmen in their makeshift lab. Scully had given him some preliminary findings about the virus, which he took right to the three geeks. He had arrived home to an empty apartment but Mulder had read the note left for him and knew that Alex was visiting with Sam again.   
It hurt him that she still would not accept him, or even see him. But what hurt him even more was that she had so easily taken to Alex; perhaps because he was as much of a stranger to this place as she was. By mutual agreement, both he and Alex had decided not to tell Sam of Alex's relation to her yet. 

* * *

Mulder's jealously quickly dissipated though, when he vaguely recalled being kissed goodnight on the back of his neck by Alex. So he had come home after all.   
Mulder rolled to his back and listened, he could hear now, Alex shuffling around in the tiny bathroom down the hall. He rubbed absently at his early morning erection, thoughts of Alex at the forefront of his musings.   
Suddenly missing his lover, and wondering if he could talk the younger man into another shower that morning, Mulder flung back the blankets on the bed and went to find Alex.

The bathroom door was cracked open a couple of inches and Mulder stopped there. He stood, with his arms folded across his chest silently peeking in at Alex; watching his lover, the younger man completely unaware of the audience.   
Spying on Alex was something Mulder liked to do every now and again. Usually the Russian was so guarded, so in control of every action and every emotion that it was only during sex, or the fleeting moments like this, that Mulder could catch Alex just being Alex.   
His focus wandered from Alex's towel-covered ass up his well muscled back, to his reflection in the mirror. Which Alex himself, seemed to be studying. 

Mulder's smile quickly turned into a frown when he realized what it was Alex was looking at... 

* * *

...Alex leaned forward and stared at himself in the mirror. The bruising along his jaw was twice as dark as it had been just a few short hours ago and the marks around his neck made it look like he and Mulder had been playing rough games in the bedroom.   
He gently felt around at the puffiness along his jaw, wincing when he pushed too hard on the black and blue. Picking up the mug of shaving soap he dipped the wet brush in and worked it all around. Alex looked at himself in the mirror again and just as he was poised to brush on the lather, he froze mid-motion. The bathroom door slowly creaked open to reveal Fox, looking very annoyed at him. 

"Don't you dare cover that up." Mulder said when he saw that Alex about to brush on the foam anyway. He stepped into the steamy bathroom and stood right behind his lover. 

The Russian's mouth formed a thin line and he dropped the brush back into the stoneware mug and placed it back on the counter top. He turned around and leaning back against the sink said to Mulder neutrally, "Busted."

Mulder's expression softened as he reached up to lightly stroke the bruising. His caress was as soft as a down feather. As he dabbed at the slightly swollen corner of Alex's mouth he asked, "Who did this?" 

Alex shrugged. "I don't know." 

"You're lying... I can tell. " Mulder said, growing angry again. 

"No really... " Alex implored. He unconsciously opened his eyes up wide, trying to convince Mulder that he was not lying. "...It was dark and I didn't' see them... Him... "

"Him? Them? So it was two men then?" 

"Don't interrogate me Fox. I said I didn't know who it was!" 

"Oh, I know who it was... " Hissed Mulder. Furious, not at Alex, but at whole the situation. He stormed away from his lover and headed for the bedroom where he began to dress quickly. 

Alex took the time to frown at himself in the mirror, then followed in Mulder's angry wake. 

Mulder had just pulled a long sleeve T-shirt over his head and yanked it down when Alex put his hand on the man's arm. He paused. 

"Fox please don't... don't make an issue of this. It's over now. It doesn't matter anymore." There was no point in his pretending that he didn't' know who had knocked him around. Mulder obviously knew. 

Mulder took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "Yes Alex it does matter. I'm getting tired of this shit. Skinner's got no right to hit you and you had better believe that if it was you pushing Skinner around, Scully would make a goddamned issue of it!" He walked away from Alex and opening his top drawer he pulled out a pair of socks and pulled them on as Alex spoke to him. 

"He said we were even Fox. I believed him. Please... I don't need you to protect or defend me. I can look after myself." 

"I'm not protecting you. I'm defending us." Mulder said, tying his runners up. He stood up and kissed Alex on the forehead. "I'll be right back. Don't start the shower without me." He smiled reassuringly at his lover, who was still wrapped in a towel and then turned around and calmly left the apartment. 

Alex stared after Mulder for a minute. "But I've already showered" he said to Mulder's back. Shaking his head, he couldn't' decide if he was pissed off because Mulder wouldn't' listen to him and let the matter drop or pleased that Mulder wouldn't listen to him.   
He shrugged his shoulders, there was no point in being pissed off at the man. Like himself, fox Mulder was pigheaded and stubborn, there was no use trying to change the man now. 

Alex went back to the bathroom and finished shaving, hoping that Skinner wouldn't hold this against him too. But If he did, well this time Alex would fight back, like Skinner had said, they were even. 

* * *

As soon as he had the door closed, Mulder stormed down the hall right to where Skinner lived. He pounded on the door with the side of his fist a few times. 

Wearing only a robe, Skinner opened the door and peeked out. 

Mulder pushed the door open farther and grabbed the surprised, larger man. He ran Skinner backwards until he was pinned against the far wall. With two tightly clenched fistfuls of the Director's robe, Mulder shook Skinner a few times then said malevolently, "If you _ever_... lay another hand on Alex I'll kill you..." 

"Mulder!" Yelled Scully from the bedroom doorway; shocked by his threat. "Let him go. NOW!" 

Skinner said nothing as Mulder looked back and forth between the two lovers. Then he pushed Skinner again and let go of his robe. He stepped back and Dana, in her robe too, went to stand beside her lover. 

"Are you all right, Walter?" She asked. 

He looked at her and patted her hand reassuringly. "I'm fine." He said, still watching Mulder closely. 

"I mean it." Mulder reiterated. "No more or were out of here." 

"I told Krycek and now I'll tell you. Were even, him and I. All is forgiven." 

Scully turned to Skinner and asked him with surprise in her voice, "What? What do you mean 'all is forgiven'?" 

"I'll explain it to you later sweetheart." Skinner said, wrapping a protective arm around her waist. "Don't upset yourself." 

"I'm perfectly fine." She said evenly. 

Mulder wondered why Skinner was worried about Scully getting upset. But he pushed the thought aside, and said calmly, "I'll see you at the council meeting in an hour." He turned around and stalked out of the Skinner apartment. Using all of his will power not to invade Scully's thoughts. He turned them instead to Alex and instantly his anger dissipated. Picking up his steps, Mulder was suddenly anxious to be home and in the shower with his love. 

* * *

**Briefing  
10:00 AM**

Scully dropped the last report in her hand down in front of the empty chair at the head of the table. Every where a person was to sit, there was a neatly typed report containing her findings sitting in front of it. 

Josh, from the armory, was the first to arrive. He smiled at her and said cheerfully, "Good morning Doctor Scully." 

"Morning Josh." She replied, giving the younger man a weak smile. Thinking that it had in fact, been a rather shitty morning all the way around. She took a sip from her coffee cup and wrinkled up her nose at the flavor.   
Suddenly her favorite drink, instead of being welcoming, repulsed her. She dumped the brew down the sink and opted for just plain water instead. 

Josh, witnessing the death of a good cup of coffee, gave Scully an amused grin and then poured his own mug of the brew. His mood was light and cheerful. Josh was happy because he knew that he would be seeing Alex again today.   
They hadn't been alone together since that day in the armory, when Mulder busted up their discussion. He had however managed to see Alex here and there. Whenever they ran into each other, they would exchange small talk and even some mild flirtation. But the ever present, disapproving Mulder seemed to be Alex's shadow these days.   
None of that mattered however, just as long as he could see that beautiful face once in the course of a normal day. Neither Alex nor Mulder shared the communal meals with the rest, so Josh only ever really got to say hi to Alex whenever he was in either the hallways or the gardens.

Eventually, everyone had arrived for the meeting, with the exceptions of Mulder and Krycek. And all were seated except for Skinner and Josh, who were discussing the low level of some supplies in the armory. 

Both of the late men entered the room together and Skinner and Josh looked up at the same time at them. 

Josh immediately had a bright smile for Alex and Alex alone. His grin soon faded however, when he saw that Alex had been beaten up again. He silently wondered if it was Mulder who was leaving the marks on the older man's handsome face. If so, then Josh thought that he should try to talk to Alex about the violence displayed by Mulder. 

Skinner had kept his expression smooth and even, but underlying it all was guilt for the prominent bruising on Alex's. Revenge, had not tasted as sweet as he thought it would. 

"Morning Josh." Alex said, smiling back at the younger man. 

"Hi Alex... " Josh said then as an after thought he added, "Good morning, Mulder." 

"Josh." Mulder replied cooly. Neither Alex nor Mulder greeted Skinner or Scully. 

"Okay." Scully said, "Were all here lets sit down and get started." 

Alex pulled out a chair and sat in it and Josh quickly filled the empty seat next to him, forcing Mulder to take a chair across the table from the two of them. 

Mulder frowned at Josh briefly but otherwise said nothing. 

Alex saw the look on Mulder's face and hid his smile by rubbing his lips with the back of his hand, giving a grimace when he accidently pushed on the sore spot at the corner of his mouth. He found Josh's crush on him amusing, as opposed to Mulder who of course just found it bothersome.   
Alex was amazed by Mulder's patience for the situation. Were the tables turned, and it was Mulder that Josh had the crush on, he would have set the younger man straight long ago. He leaned over and whispered softly near Josh's ear, "Why are you pushing his buttons? Today is not a good day to be doing that." He winked at Mulder as he spoke. 

"Whose buttons am I pushing?" Josh asked innocently, wondering silently, what had happened between the two lovers to make it not a good day for the Russian. 

Alex smiled and sat up straight. He genuinely like Josh—the former rookie agent. The kid definitely knew what he wanted; him. 

Though Josh was tactful enough not to directly interfere with the men's relationship, he planned on continuing to flirt with Alex as long as Mulder did not tell him to fuck off. Josh clung to the hope that maybe one day, Alex Krycek would look twice at him. And Josh could wait for that day; he had all the time in the world; now. 

* * *

"Right." Scully said, and all the people around the table looked to her. "This is what we've found out so far." She laid a transparent sheet on the over head projector and began her lecture.

"Now in the course of our experiments, I came across one factor that most of the people share in the shelter. Everyone with the exceptions of myself, Walter Skinner, Fox Mulder, Samantha Mulder, the late Teena Mulder and Krycek..." 

No one but Mulder and Alex noticed that Scully purposely did not use Alex's first name. 

"...have a blood type that is a negative factor. Either A-, B- or AB-. I think that's why some of the people survived, because of the negative RH factor. 

"But then wouldn't there have to be more people alive?" Josh asked. "The surface seems so deserted."

"Actually... " Scully replied, "...Negative blood is extemely rare, so if you consider that 55% of the world's population was the standard O+ and then break it down from there starting with B+ as the next most popular then A+ after that. In actuality, only about 2% of the Earths population is of a negative type of blood." 

Alex spoke up, "Five billion to twenty-five million people in a matter of days, and spread out over the globe... " He turned to Josh and said, "...No wonder we so alone..." His voice was low and gravelly, the small amount of the population that had survived, rattled him. 

Scully nodded her head to Alex's comment but did not reply, she went on, "Now the reason why Mrs. Mulder, Samantha Mulder and I weren't infected by 'purity' is because we all have or had a chip implanted in our bodies." She passed a small microchip inside a glass vial around, "That was Teena Mulder's." Scully said, her voice remorseful.   
"Samantha Mulder and I still have them in us, we can't remove them or our health will fail."   
The chip was passed back to her and she put it on top of her file folder, changed the page on the projector and then continued.   
"Now, Mulder and Krycek are a different story. Their blood type is the same, both of them are in the B+ blood group. But the composition of their blood has been completely changed. Both men were infected by the black oil before the release of the virus. Mulder was given the first, almost the prototype if you will, inoculation for the oil, while Krycek was not. But both blood samples are virtually identical under the microscope." She looked to Alex for an explanation. 

He cleared his throat and said, "The oil that infected me left my body voluntarily. As a reward for being such a good host, when I expelled it, it left an imprint behind, giving me a natural immunity." 

"It told you that?" Asked Scully skeptically. 

"No. More like it left the memory of its gift in my brain, like a post hypnotic suggestion." 

"So when you took me to Tunguska that time, you knew I would be infected then vaccinated making me immune?" Mulder asked from across the table. 

"Yes." Alex replied. "I was trying to save your life in a round about way. We knew even back then that the colonists couldn't be trusted. Too bad I was right." 

Before Mulder could respond, Scully interrupted. "Well that would explain why you're both immune the oil. And as for Walter, his body was invaded by advanced nanite technology and for some reason I can't explain, the virus was unable to take control inside of him." 

"That's because, " Alex spoke up again, "...the nanites are stronger and smarter than the virus. Skinner is their host and they are sentient beings, completely aware. Therefore, they would protect their host from anyone or anything attempting to invade it." Alex looked down the table at Skinner and said, "I bet you haven't had so much as a cold since being infected" 

"No. I haven't." Skinner replied, he had never really thought about it before, but now that he did, Alex was right. No colds, flue or any other communicable diseases and or virus's. 

"That's because they won't allow anything potentially harmful in." 

Mulder knew that it was Alex who had done the 'nano' thing to Skinner and that Skinner had known it all along. But both men had refused to talk it, or about the months leading up to the invasion. He only knew that at some point Krycek and Skinner worked together then the whole world went to hell and Alex disappeared. Skinner told Mulder that, that was all behind them now that it didn't matter and he didn't want to talk about it.   
So Mulder had reluctantly let the topic drop. And regretting his promise for the nth time, he never reached out to either man for the truth of that time. 

"So basically, you saved my life too." Skinner said blandly. 

Alex shrugged uncomfortable with the others staring at him, expectantly. "Unintentionally at the time,...yes."

Scully snapped her head to glare at Alex, Skinner saw the look and realized that he had just let the cat out of the bag. "I'll talk to you later Dana." Skinner said gently. 

Ever the professional, Scully nodded in agreement and then went on with her findings. After another half hour she concluded by saying, "So to summarize, everyone who survived the virus naturally has a negative factor blood type. Using Mulder's and Krycek's altered blood samples and the unchanged samples of the other's here, the gunmen and I have cooked up a virus of our own. One that we are going to give to the greys and the rebels to see if we can't kill them back. Skinner will brief those selected for the mission on the details. For now, are there any other questions?"

A few people at the table clarified some of the facts for themselves then as everyone stood to leave, Skinner said, "Josh, Davis, Mulder, Krycek and the gunmen can stay behind." Those who were not named filed out. 

Josh took the opportunity to use the men's room.

And Scully and Skinner talked quietly in the corner of the boardroom. 

"Why do you encourage him?" Mulder asked Alex, standing close beside him. 

Alex grinned over the rim of his coffee cup and said evenly, "I don't encourage him. Were friends, nothing more. It's just because you have an emotional interest vested in me that you see his every word and gesture as a 'play' for me. When in fact, it's not." 

Mulder nodded his head and poured a cup of the stale brew for himself. "Well... " He drawled, "...when you put it like that... it makes sense."

"Besides,..." Alex added, "...he's winding you up and he knows it." Alex laughed and then Mulder joined him. He knew that Alex would never betray him again. So what was the harm? He pecked Alex on the lips quickly then they sat back down, waiting Skinner to get on with the mission brief. 

This time, Josh sat across the table from Alex, even though there was an empty chair on the other side of Alex. But now was not the time to fool around, it was time to be serious.

Scully gathered up her stuff, getting ready to leave, she had a lot of work to do in preparing for the next mission. As she was walking out, she stopped by Mulder's chair and leaning down she said to him in his ear, "Can I talk to you later? Alone?" 

"Sure." Mulder said. "Where?" 

"Come to the med. lab when you're done here. That's where I'll be." 

"Okay." He said and then Scully was gone. 

* * *

"All right." Skinner said, looking at the men seated around the table. "While Dana prepares the vaccine, I want to discuss possible ways of administering it. I was thinking of forming two teams of two or three people and while one team takes on the rebels the other can go after the greys. The gunmen have found what they believe to be a grey nursery at the top of Skyland Mountain." 

The three geeks grinned smugly, pleased with themselves and their find. 

"And of course we know where there's a rebel base. If..." Skinner looked at Alex, "...they haven't moved." He said raising his eyebrows in silent questioning. 

Alex shook his head "No. They wouldn't have relocated just because one test subject got away." He shook his head again, "I'm completely irrelevant when it comes to the big picture." 

"Okay then. Let's decide on the teams." 

"I don't' think that will work." Alex cut in. All the faces around the table focused in on him, waiting for him to speak. "It would be better..." He explained, "...if one volunteer went in alone. Believe me one person could slip by undetected but not three."

"Three of us got in before." Bill Davis stated. 

"Yes, but most of the aliens on board the ships were soldiers and were out on a raid at the time. Minimal personnel were left behind to guard the fort. You surprised them once. We won't be so lucky again."

Skinner contemplated Alex words, "What do you suggest then?" He asked finally. 

Alex sipped his coffee and said, "Like I said, you need one operative... me... to go in..."

"WHAT?" Exclaimed both Mulder and Josh at the same time.

Alex held up his hand to silence both the older and younger man. "Listen..." He said sensibly, "I already know a way I can sneak into the rebel ship undetected and from my covert point of entry, the area where the rebels rejuvenate is not very far from that. I would have a chance of catching the whole goddamned nest of them by surprise. 

"But weren't you captured on the same ship before?" Byers asked. 

"Yes, but that was while I was trying to steal the EBE from the cryo-chambers. Which was clear across the craft from where I had originally entered." 

"Oh, I see." Byers said, nodding his head. 

"Alex, it's too dangerous for you to go alone. I won't allow it.." Mulder said. 

"Oh, you won't will you?" Alex responded sarcastically. 

"Mulder. Let's just listen to what Krycek has to say and then we will decide if it's to dangerous to proceed." Skinner said, trying to stop an argument before it got started. 

Josh looked at Mulder amazed that he actually agreed on something with the older agent. He didn't want Alex risking his safety on his account. However, he wisely remained silent on the subject. 

Alex's glare softened, "I appreciate the sentiment, Fox, but hear me out... please..." He turned away and looking at Josh he said, "You too..." "Right then..." He started, "...after a cycle of 24 hours every alien has to shut down for a minimum of four hours to 'rejuvenate' their systems. Which are actually quite delicate. Only about ten guards will be on a different rest cycle from the majority. They will keeping an eye on the base. Now Mulder and Davis know how big that ship is, so with only ten guards, I should be relatively safe from discovery. There will be four shape shifters walking the perimeter on the outside and six on the inside.   
If I take the four on the outside out and maybe do the two or three I encounter on the inside, I won't have a problem. I'm sure I can slip in and out, undetected. As for Skyland Mountain, well I'll think of a way to get in when the time comes. And like the rebel ship, there won't be many greys on board, just a small complement to protect the gestating babies. The greys tend to have big ego's, they think they're smarter than us. That's their Achilles heal. What better way to strike them than to kill their offspring?" Alex reasoned. 

"Sounds good Alex but I don't think you should go alone." Mulder said. 

"I agree with Mulder." Josh piped in. Mulder looked across the table at the younger man. "One person should go with you just in case. Even if they stay behind hidden off the ship." 

Mulder hated to admit it, but he was right. "I'll go with you." Mulder said. 

"Me too." Volunteered Josh. 

Exasperated, Alex flopped his head over so that his forehead rested against the cool formica table top. He brought his gaze up and said frustrated, "I need to go alone or the mission could be lost. The more people there are the likely hood of discovery increases." 

"But..." Davis interjected, then the three gunmen tried to put their two cents worth in and soon all of the men around the table were talking at once, each of them giving an opinion and Alex trying to defend his suggestions. 

"Shut up!" Skinner yelled, instantly quieting the men. "Here's the deal. Krycek you'll go into both ships and administer the vaccine." Alex smiled triumphantly but his victory was short lived, "And Davis will go with you to watch your back. But he will stay out of the ships as suggested." 

"Okay." Davis agreed. "Me and Krycek it is." 

Both Mulder and Josh scowled, each of them had wanted to be the one to accompany Alex. Mulder said as much as did Josh. 

But Skinner silenced them by saying, "You're both needed here, besides, for obvious reasons, neither on of you can go. All right. You're all dismissed except for Krycek and Davis, we'll take the time and go through some of the finer details now. Josh, you go and get whatever arms you think they will need, ready. Mulder go to the med. lab and help Dana prepare the vaccine and other emergency supplies. Frohicke, Byers, and Langley, you double check the information. Make sure Krycek and Davis have a map to the Skyland Mountain ship." The men who had been told to leave did, and the ones told to stay sat on either side of Skinner and worked out the logistics of the mission. 

* * *

"Scully." Mulder called out, standing in the middle of the deserted lab and looking around. He heard a toilet flush somewhere behind him and then a tap turn on. A few seconds later, Scully emerged from the washroom. She was wiping her forehead with a wet piece of paper towel. "You feeling okay?" He asked her. 

Not realizing that she was no longer alone, Scully jumped when Mulder spoke. "Jesus, you scared me." She said as she put a hand up to her pounding heart. "I'm fine. Just a bug I think." She replied, a secret smile playing about her full mouth. 

Curious as to what she wanted to talk to him about Mulder asked, "So what did you want to see me about."

The smile faded from her face, she licked her lips and gestured toward a stool. "Why don't you sit?" She offered.

"Okay?" He said slowly, growing. "I'm sitting. What's up?" 

"Well..." She hesitated. 

"Scully, whatever it is just spit it out or else I'll reach in and find out what it is my self." Mulder threatened. 

"No. Don't you dare read my thoughts!" She scolded. "All right, here goes. While I was studying the groups blood samples, I came across some interesting facts. Like I mentioned earlier, you and Krycek have the same blood type. Which got me to thinking... You're both six feet tall or over respectively, both have green eyes, dark brown hair and moles, ironically enough on the right sides of your cheeks. It just struck me as peculiar that you have the same blood type and share the same colouring in the eyes and hair, the same physical traits too. Even moles and freckles are hereditary." Scully waved her hand, she was getting off track, "So I took the liberty and did a DNA smear. And from what the preliminary results say, you're... er... related. Brothers in fact." She looked at Mulder expectantly but his face was curiously expressionless. 

"You did a DNA stain without my permission just because Alex and I have similar builds and brown hair?" He was mad that Scully had taken it upon herself, once again, to meddle into his business. "You had no right to do that." He stated firmly. 

Scully stared at Mulder, incredulous, his reaction to her revelation was not what she had expected at all. "Mulder. Did you even hear a word I said? I just told you that you've been having an intimate relationship with your biological brother and you give me grief over the fact that I didn't have the permission to do the stain!?" Her vivid blue eyes were wide with shock... 

Mulder stood up and keeping his temper and voice in check said, "Both Alex and I know of our blood ties. My mother revealed it to us shortly before she died." 

Scully glared hard at the man she thought she knew. "Jesus Christ Mulder. What the hell is wrong with you? You and Krycek have been _fucking_ each other and the whole time both of you knew! God Mulder," Scully spit, disgusted with her former partner and how much he had changed or rather how much Alex Krycek had changed him. "That's just sick! Of all the twisted... perverted... depraved..." She sputtered out adjectives. 

Mulder interrupted her, "Be that as it may Scully." The tone of his voice immediately shut her up. It was calm, and even with an icy edge to it. "Alex and my relationship is none of your business. Only Alex, I and my mother knew. And now you... No one else. Since you took our blood under the guise of performing tests,... which makes you our physician... I expect you to maintain patient/doctor confidentiality in this matter." 

Then he spun on his heel and stalked out of the lab. Leaving Scully to stare after his angry wake. His instructions to help her, forgotten. 

* * *

A few hours later, back in their room, Mulder and Alex cuddled together closely. Their love making had been intense and very involved. Culminating with Mulder declaring passionately, "I love Alex, I always have." Loudly as he climaxed deep inside of his lover.

Pulling Mulder down to his face and kissing him deeply, Alex said in return, "I love you too, Fox... Forever." Then he went back to sharing his tongue with and accepting Mulder's back in return. The kiss between them lasted them a very long time. 

Now they were laying entwined around each other, just a few short hours before Alex was to leave. Both men tried to get some sleep, but it would not come easily, to either of them. 

* * *

**The next morning  
7:00 a.m. **

As Alex dressed in his fatigues, Mulder tried to one more time to talk Alex out of going onto the ships alone. 

"I'm sneaking on board by my self... It's just safer that way." He replied exasperated by Mulder's worry for him. He pulled a leather gun holster over his shoulders and fitted it tightly over his white T-shirt. 

"Safer for whom? You or Davis?" Mulder asked, watching his lover do the velcro straps of the holster up. 

"For Davis of course. I'm expendable." Alex said matter of fact, fastening a second leather holster for another side arm around his right thigh. "Davis isn't. Besides no one likes me here any ways." He adjusted a strap that was at the top of his knee. 

Frowning Mulder said, "That's not true and you know it." 

Tucking his T-shirt back in Alex said without looking up, "Yes it is." 

Reaching out Mulder stopped Alex from his fiddling and holding him by the shoulders said to him directly, "Your life means something to me and to Samantha." He kissed Alex on the lips and said, "Besides, the girls in the veggie beds like you... and so does Josh, much to my chagrin... "

Alex smiled softly at that. He reached up and peeled Mulder's hands from his shoulders and holding them tightly within his own, he said, "Yeah well, . . . everyone likes me but the one person who counts... " He gave Mulder's cold hands a squeeze to reassure him. He had no idea that Mulder and Scully had had angry words about their relationship. 

"Don't worry what Scully thinks..." Mulder started to say, but Alex cut him off with another kiss. 

"I don't want to talk about Scully right now." He said. "I want you to promise me while I'm gone you will answer Sam's letter. Maybe if she asks, go and see her. This will,..." Alex hesitated for a second, "... this will be a good time for you two to reconnect. Trust me, she wants to see you, she's just afraid, that's all." 

Mulder studied Alex eyes, "I will." He said finally. "I promise I'll write back to her." He pulled Alex close and hugged him. He was so afraid for Alex's safety that he didn't want to let him go. He was not as concerned for Davis, who would be hanging back and hiding in the bushes. It was Alex who would be taking all of he risks. 

"Listen Fox... I love you..." Alex whispered huskily. "For as long as I could remember, I've been in love with you. All that stuff I did before the holocaust..." He pulled back a bit and looked into Mulder eyes, "Betraying you, I never wanted to hurt you that way... ever..."

"God Alex, you sound like your not planning on coming back." Mulder was alarmed by Alex's fatalistic attitude. "Promise me you'll return." 

Alex smiled softly. The fine lines around his eyes crinkled and fanned out. "I will... If I can... or I'll die trying. And if that happens then I will have repaid my debt to society." He grabbed Mulder and kissed him roughly. "Don't come to the last briefing in the armory. Okay?" He reluctantly pulled himself out of Mulder's warm arms and finished putting on the rest of his gear. He would fill his two holsters with guns from the armory, just before departing. "I wanted our goodbye to be private, just between us."

"Okay." Mulder agreed reluctantly. "In that case..." He said as he sank to his knees in front of Alex and started to undo the buttons on his pants. 

"What are you doing?" Alex questioned. "You don't' have to do that!" His hands went to Mulder's and tried to push them away. 

But Mulder was deaf to Alex protests as he pulled Alex's semi erection out and over the top of the Russian's plain black boxer briefs. The amorous agent didn't even bother with pulling Alex's pants down. He looked up and said playfully, "It sure feels like you want me to do this." Then he swallowed the throbbing organ down greedily. 

Alex hissed his pleasure, quit protesting and tangled his fingers in Mulders short, silky hair. 

Mulder had Alex pinned to the wall that was behind him. He held him there, perfectly still, by pushing firmly against his hips with the heals of his hands. Mulder's fingers extended around Alex's narrow waist. And he used only his mouth in which to get Alex off with. 

The whole blow job felt so illicit, so daring for Alex. Especially when Mulder was fully clothed and on his knees before him. The only skin that was bared was the flesh of his cock, he felt so exposed and so vulnerable to Mulder and his talented mouth. 

And Mulder, in response to Alex reactions, could feel his own cock rising in response to his lovers thrashing and moaning. 

After about only two minutes, the last minute thrill of an unplanned blow job worked its magic. Alex's body stiffened and his finges squeezed Mulder's hair tighter as he shot his cum right down Mulder's willing throat. 

Still on his knees' Mulder swallowed all that Alex had to give, something that he'd never done before. And when younger man's erection began to ebb, the kneeling agent released him. 

Standing up, Mulder drew Alex in close for another kiss. He stuck his tongue inside of Alex's lush mouth and gave the spent man a taste his own unique essence. 

"Mmm. Fox." Alex said when he finally gained his composure. "That was great."

Smiling, Mulder replied, "I know." Than on a more serious note he said, "That was just a taste of what's to come. So you had better take care of yourself out there and return to me in one piece... safely." 

"I'll be careful Fox. I promise." He hugged and kissed his lover goodbye one last time. "See you in a week." He said, just before walking out. 

After he had gone, Mulder sat down and thought, _What am I going to do for a whole seven days while he's away?_

Remembering the promise that he had made, Mulder pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and began to write a letter back to his sister. Maybe Alex was right, Mulder thought, without any distractions around him, this would be the prefect opportunity to get to know Samantha again. 

* * *

**The Armory**

"Okay Alex." Josh said. "That's all the weaponry you should need." He smiled proudly at the Russian and then added, "Except for one extra special piece that I made you." 

Intrigued, Alex asked, "What did you make?" 

"Well after the briefing yesterday, I thought that if you could somehow 'trank' the Aliens from a distance, the chances of you would getting killed would decrease dramatically. Exspecially since the alternative is to fight them with hand to hand combat. Trying to stick those big faceless buggers in the back of the neck with a pick can't be an easy thing to do." He smiled and handed Alex the modified shot gun that he had made. The nose and butt had been cut off of the gun. 

"Wow." Alex said turning the gun over in his hands, impressed with Josh's ingenuity. No wonder the younger agent had made it through the rigorous training at FBI Academy so easily. Alex gripped the stubby shot gun tightly and looking up he asked, "What do I do with it?" 

With his voice full of pride, Josh answered, "Dr. Scully and I loaded the vaccine into some empty one dose needles, you know, the kind where the medicine is drawn into the body as soon as it penetrates the skin?" Alex nodded, he knew which ones' Josh meant. "Then I modified these shotgun shells." Josh picked up a box of blue buck shot shells. "And I put the darts into them so all you have to do is shoot the aliens... " Josh mimicked firing a shot gun and said grinning, "...from a safe distance. And BOOM! They're dead and you're not." 

"Good thinking Josh." Alex praised, secretly pleased that he didn't have to go one on one with an alien. He would have if he had to, but nonetheless he was still glad to have the option. 

"Here, hold the gun under your right pit with this." Josh was holding a long piece of leather thong that resembled a boot lace. 

Now Alex knew what the garrote was made of that Sparks had used on him. 

Josh made a loop and tied an intricate knot then pushed it up and over Alex's arm to his shoulder. His fingers caressed the smooth flesh over Alex's large biceps muscle, and his task was instantly forgotten. Josh stared dreamily up at Alex for a few seconds. Then, without realizing what he was really doing, the younger man stood up on his toes and kissed Alex on the mouth.   
Alex, who had been looking back at Josh could tell that in those fleeting seconds of inner fantasy that younger man was thinking about the two of them together. So he was not all that shocked when Josh kissed him. Alex allowed it however and Josh, finally coming to his senses pulled away embarrassed by his actions. 

"Oh my God... I can't believe I just did that... I'm so sorry Alex." 

The younger man honestly looked horrified, and Alex had to smile. "It's okay Josh." He said to him. "Once is an impulse, twice means you're trying to instigate something." He raised an eyebrow at the younger man, "You get my drift?" 

Josh did. In other words, don't kiss him again, this one time would be forgiven but not the next. "Listen, I feel really stupid for doing that." His cheeks burned red with humiliation. 

"Don't worry about it Josh. But I have to tell you that Mulder and I are solid. I don't want to lead you on. You and I are friends, good friends, but nothing more."

Josh was heartbroken, but he tried not to show it. He gave Alex a shaky smile and nodded. If that's what Alex had to offer him then he would accept it gladly.   
He straightened up and made himself a promise, no more flirting and no more stolen kisses. He would show Alex that he could honor him and their friendship.   
"Friends it is then." Josh was still smiling on the outside, but on the inside he was devastated. However, he could not let Alex know that. 

"In fact Josh." Alex said hanging the modified shotgun from the thong, he looked up, "You're my only friend."

"Well in that case," Josh said smoothly, "Here's some friendly advice. Load in six of the shells now and stow the rest close by in a side pocket." 

Luckily the army pants Alex wore had many pockets of assorted sizes in order for him to hide things in. After some shuffling of various items, he managed to tuck away the box of shells in a pocket at the side of his hip. 

* * *

Scully, Skinner and Bill Davis all walked into the armory together. And Josh immediately got to work outfitting Davis with his preferred weaponry and ammunition. Helping the older man to stash his stuff away like he had done for Alex.

"Here's the syringes." Skinner said showing Alex six large needles, filled with a deep, amber coloured liquid. All six syringes were inside a wooden case and fit side by side to each other snugly.   
Skinner put them in an outside flap on Davis' knapsack. "I take it Josh showed you his new invention?" 

In response, Alex flapped opened his jacket and flashed Skinner and Scully the gun that was hanging loosly under his right armpit. 

As Josh balanced Davis' knapsack, Scully gave her instructions to Alex.   
"Three needles per ship should do the trick nicely. If possible take notes. We need to know what went right and wrong with the vaccine." She was speaking to Alex but looking over at Bill Davis. She couldn't quite bring herself to meet Alex eyes, knowing what she did about him and Mulder. At the last second she put a small palm sized cam corder into Alex's hand and said, "Use this to record if it's possible." Then to Davis she handed two spare tapes for them to film on, each no bigger that a miniature chocolate bar. 

Alex nodded his head in understanding and zipped up his jacket. He stuffed the camera into a pocket at the side of his coat. 

"Okay..." Skinner said, "...just to be on the safe side, there will be no radio contact until after the greys are done. Right?" 

Both Alex and Davis said "Right." Together. 

" _Do_ the rebels in Baltimore first, then the greys on Skyland. Stick to the plan and if all goes well, we'll see you here in a week. Do you have enough weapons?" Skinner asked. 

Josh was now helping Alex to shrug on his own heavy back pack. 

"Yes." The Russian confirmed settling the weight so it was comfortable. 

"Christ Walter. I'm so heavily armed I've practically got a goddamned knife hidden up my ass!" Davis quipped, smiling at the ribald joke. 

Josh quit fiddling with the flaps of Alex's pack and said straight faced to Scully and Skinner, "Well don't look at me, I didn't put it there." He grinned and Alex laughed out loud along with Bill Davis. 

"If were not back in two weeks, were probably dead." Alex said seriously. "Don't bother with sending out a search party. It'll just be a waste of valuable manpower." 

"Speak for yourself Krycek. Come looking for me at least." Davis replied seriously to Skinner. 

"Don't worry old man." Josh said patting Davis on his weather worn cheek. "If you're overdue longer than twenty-four hours we'll send out the hounds to look for you." 

"Well that's good to know. Now, who are you calling old?" 

"You..."

"All right," Skinner said breaking up Josh and Davis' repartee. "Just come back on time." He directed that comment to Alex. "Because if you're gone longer than the 24-hour window, Mulder will come looking for you himself, come hell or high water. Regardless of the weather conditions." The fall weather was rapidly turning into winter like conditions. Which was good because the aliens did not like the cold that much and the activities for both warring factions would decrease dramatically. He clapped Alex then Bill amicably on the shoulder. 

Alex was surprised by Skinner and his non combative tone. He looked up at Skinner who said simply, "I meant what I said the other night." 

Josh and Davis looked at each other, they had no idea what was going on though Josh suspected that it had something to do with the bruises Alex was sporting. Josh had finally found the courage to ask Alex what had happened, but the Russian simply evaded the question by abruptly changing the subject. 

Josh had just assumed that it had been Mulder who had hit him, now it sounded more like that it was Skinner's handiwork that marked Alex. Josh shrugged, if it was a big deal Alex probably would have said something to him. Besides, there was nothing he could do about it any ways. 

Scully went up to Alex and handed him a small white tablet that was sealed in a single blister pack. She gave one to Davis too. The men looked at her, curious. 

"Pharmaceutical cyanide." Scully said. "Just in case. Hide it somewhere where you can get at it." 

"In case of what?" Davis asked dryly. 

"You never know, but it's better to have the option." She said. 

Alex raised his eyebrow then stashed the pill in an inner pocket. He couldn't help but think that Scully was secretly wishing he'd have to take that option. 

  
Skinner opened the door that led to another door that led to the surface.   
"Be careful." He said to the men before slamming the heavy steal home. 

Alex heard it lock behind him and then he and Davis were alone in the dark. 

* * *

PAIRINGS: Alex Krycek/Fox Mulder.   
Questions? Comments? e-mail me [email removed]   
---


	5. Part V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is an A.U. story featuring Mulder and Krycek along with a few other X-files characters. The story takes place in the year 2001and on the premise that an early invasion has already happened, with disastrous results. A virus released by the aliens has backfired and ended up killing most of the earths' population instead of enslaving it. However, there are still a few survivors here and there. Also, a civil war being fought between the rebel shape-shifters/faceless ones and the small, intelligent greys. For now, the aliens are for the most part, ignoring the surviving humans as they have their hands full with fighting. Mulder, Skinner, Scully and the LGM along with some others have all survived the deadly virus and now live below the FBI building. Skinner is, by default in charge of the small group of people living in the shelter. Alex Krycek was caught and taken captive by the shape shifters while trying to steal the E.B.E. For the last year, he has been the victim of many painful experiments that the aliens performed on him. One of which resulted in his left arm being grown back, in a very painful process that took an entire year to complete.

Go to notes and disclaimers 

**Part V**

  
Krycek pushed the plunger down and within seconds, a lethal dose of the amber antidote was carried away via the main umbilical chord. The ungestated alien fetuses' were growing inside of alien manufactured wombs that were egg shaped and made of a clear plexiglass type of material. 

Row upon row of large-eyed, big headed, alien babies convulsed then died inside of their warm tanks. 

Alex tossed the used needle aside and pulled the small cam corder out from his pocket. Flicking it on, he began to film the fetus's when they began to expire. As the premature aliens fought for life, Alex gave a monologue, starting with the standard date and time to go with the pictures he was filming. 

Davis and he had been very patient, taking their time in finding a way onto the ship. 

Alex had finally snuck on board by first killing a grey; using one of his antidote filled bullets. He bent squatted down next to the dead alien and carefully gouged out the grey's over sized right eyed. He gently laid the eye on the frozen ground and proceeded to hack off the aliens left index finger at the fifth knuckle.   
While Alex pushed the eye up to the retinal scanner Davis pressed the finger to the key pad. Both functions had to be done simultaneously in order for the doors to unlock. The alien ship identified then acknowledged the print and eye patterns; the titanium doors made no noise when they slid open. 

It was as easy as that. 

From that point on, Alex was alone on board. First, he had to hunt down all of the grown greys on board and dispose them off. It took him just under a half hour to successfully find all of the brainy beings—about 15 in all—and kill them.   
He made sure to record as much of their equipment and computers as possible, thinking that the unfamiliar instrument panels and various objects could be as dangerous as nuclear weapons or as benign as a temperature regulator. 

These particular recordings he did with Josh and the _three geeks_ in mind, thinking that they may spot something useful. 

After that, he found his way to the nursery and proceeded to exterminated all of the _unearthly ones_ unborn. Alex felt absolutely no guilt, or remorse for his actions. After all he was fighting a war and all was fair. 

Besides the greys had no compunctions about committing global genocide against the human race. 

Finally, when the last unborn grey finished twitching Alex shut the camera off and got to work setting up the plastique charges. Once that was done, he abandoned the ship and when he met up with Davis, started the timer to the sophisticated bombs . The two of them were about three kilometers' away before the entire spacecraft blew up; just like the rebel's ship in Baltimore had. 

"Well... Our work here appears to be done." Davis quipped. 

"Yep." Agreed Alex. 

"Let's go home." Davis said. 

"Actually Bill. I have a favor to ask." Alex said innocently. 

"What kind of plot are you hatching now?" Davis asked, eyeing his younger companion suspiciously.   
Krycek gave his partner a large, toothy grin. "Well... Seeing as how we are two days ahead of schedule, I want to take a little side trip and go to the apartment building where I used to live. It's not too far from here." 

"Why? What do you want from your apartment?" The older man quizzed. 

"Some personal effects." Krycek said easily. Which was true, but what he really wanted to retrieve was the palm controller for the nanites that existed inside of Skinner. He wanted to hand over the miniature computer to Skinner so that he could be in control of the presently dormant creatures. 

"Okay." Davis shrugged, he was enjoying the cold crisp air of the surface. 

"Great." Alex said smiling again, pleased that Davis had agreed to the extra excursion. 

The two men found their ATV's that they had hidden and continued with their trek, looking for an ideal place to stop for the night. Both of them were unaware that several pairs of human eyes. Initially brought out by the explosion, those eyes were now following and watching them. 

The watchers had decided to wait and take the two men after night had fallen, when they would be the most vulnerable. 

* * *

Bill sat on one log and Alex sat on another across the fire from him. The night was crisp and clear, the large blaze Alex had built kept the chill at bay. The older man sipped his coffee in silence and watched Krycek from underneath veiled lids. 

While Alex stared hypnotically into the bright orange-red flames, he was absently turning his steel coffee mug slowly around and around in the palms of his hands. Davis didn't know what Alex was thinking about but he assumed it was Mulder. 

It was no secret to Davis, or anyone else at the bunker for that matter, that the two former agents were a couple. 

Davis sighed heavily, suddenly missing his wife. She had been one of the first to die, back when the government claimed it was nothing more a nasty flu virus running amok. He sighed again and said a silent prayer for his wife's soul. He couldn't have been more wrong about what was on Krycek's mind. 

* * *

Alex was studying the dancing flames and thinking not about his lover Fox Mulder, but about his half-sister Samantha. He was conflicted with her ever knowing about his _real_ relationship to her and Fox. The more he thought about it, the better off he figured she would be not knowing the truth. She had enough stuff to try and work through, Alex did not want to add to her problems.   
Had Samantha known that they were related, Alex doubted that she would have told him of her abuse. Those were the types of things you generally kept from your estranged brothers.   
Alex thoughts turned from Samantha to Mulder. He was so tired of secrets, that was why he had told Mulder his whole life story. It had not been easy for him to say the words, to recall the vivid images that still haunted him to this day. But he had managed to work up his courage one evening - courage that came from a vodka bottle—and sitting Mulder down late one night, Alex told him everything.   
Alex started from his very first memories of the orphanage and continued talking right up until he reach the point where Mulder liberated him from the rebel ship. 

That night, Alex had laid himself open by revealing the truth, exposing the ugliness of not only his life, but of his soul. 

The Russian had not spared even the tiniest of details, and when he was done confessing, Mulder had pulled him in close said simply, "Never again."

Alex wasn't exactly sure what his lover had meant by that, but he some how felt comforted by it nonetheless. 

The love making Alex and Mulder had made after Alex's disclosure had been unhurried and exceptionally tender; with the session lasting most of the night. 

* * *

Alex smiled as he remembered the loving making that night.

Davis tossed the remnants in the bottom of his coffee cup into the bush, breaking Alex's spellbound musings and making him look up.   
"How about we hit the sa..." Davis started to Alex, but before he could finish the word 'sack' an arrow shot from an unseen crossbow behind him, sliced right through the older man's throat. 

A fine spray of arcing blood hit Alex in the face and sent a spray pattern of the rich crimson liquid up the front of his unzipped jacket and T-shirt. 

Davis looked to Alex with startled eyes confusion crossed his face briefly as the steel mug fell from his hand. He blinked twice slowly, then the lights went out of the experienced agent's big brown eyes for ever.   
Slumping over he fell off of the log; dead before he even hit the ground.

Alex just stared at Bill, from the time the arrow came through his throat to his falling over dead, all of it, as seen through Alex's eyes, seemed to be happening in slow motion. 

In actuality it had only been seconds.

Shaking off his astonishment, Alex rolled backwards over the log and while he tumbled over he drew his side arm. Alex popped upright, his ass on the frozen ground and his back against the log with his gun ready and pointed toward the black woods. He sat there listening intently, trying to look into the bushes near him where he could hear voices. But the brightness of the fire made it impossible for him to see into the dense foliage. 

"Give it up handsome." A deep, southern voice drawled from the darkness. "You're surrounded." 

From the corner of his eye, Alex saw a darkened outline of a figure stirring in the bushes. Forever an assassin, he automatically turned and fired, hitting the emerging target. The Russian's aim was true, he killed the faceless assailant instantly. Alex watched as the man dropped to the ground like a sack of grain. 

Immediately after that Alex felt a sting at the side of his neck. He put his hand up automatically to slap at whatever it was that had caused the pain. Alex's hand came away and he stared down at a small dart laying harmlessly on the pads of his fingertips.   
_Shit._   
Was all he had time to think before the fast acting anesthetic took over. 

* * *

"Get him up boys." Instructed Clint, the leader of the group. 

As Bruce and J.R, two members of the small group, started to get their unconscious captive ready for travel another two other men, Skeeter and Harley set about quickly packing up the campsite. They left Bill Davis's body behind—barely covered in a shallow grave—to the mercy of the elements and wildlife. 

Clint grabbed a handful of Alex's hair and reefed the limp head up. "Pretty. Very pretty." He drawled. "Let's get a move on." The troop moved on, taking the unconscious Alex, all of his gear, and the man that he had shot dead with them. 

* * *

"Wake'em up Harley." Clint instructed. He had noticed that Alex was starting to come around, Clint glanced at his watch, it was time for the drug to start wearing off. 

Harley, another southerner, approached Alex and tossed a small glass of cold water into the Russians face, rousing him completely. 

Alex snorted then shook the water drops off of his face. His eyes were blinking rapidly, trying to clear themselves of the blurriness. He immediately discovered that he was handcuffed from behind when he tried to bring his hands up to wipe away the water.   
They had laid him out on top of a dirty, single mattress that had no box spring it simply rested on the floor in the corner of the empty, windowless room. Alex's eyes regained their focus and he surveyed his surroundings closer. The high vaulted ceiling of the room and the size of it told him that he was probably being held captive in a Virginia mansion whose owners had no doubt perished during the outbreak.   
Alex pulled his gaze away from the four plain walls and studied each of the faces before him. He committed them all to is memory, giving each one of the five a deep scowl. Wiggling around, he situated himself so that he was sitting up, leaning against the wall. Looking down at his body, Alex was relieved to see that he still had on his pants, socks and T-shirt and that only his jacket and boots were missing. 

So his person had not been molested while he was out of it. 

Though Alex thought that judging by the wide-eyed lust filled stares he was receiving from the strange men standing around him, it wasn't a matter of _if_ they were going to use him sexually but _when_. 

"What am I doing here?" Alex husked, his throat dry. 

Clint squatted down in front of Alex at the head of the mattress and said, "I would think that's obvious Mr." 

Alex licked his cracked lips, so he was here for their pleasure. For a minute he had hoped that he might merely be a hostage in a plot to exhort arms or something from the shelter. "You can't do this you know. Hold me against my will." 

Clint smiled. "Oh no? Why can't we? Your traveling companion is dead, ...you're defenseless." His swept his eyes over Alex's face and torso. 

Alex kept the pain of Davis's death safely buried inside, his face was a featureless, icy mask of calm. "If I'm not back..." Alex swallowed, trying to wet his mouth, "...within 24 hours of when you kidnaped me, an armed search party will come looking for me." Bullshit he knew, but maybe it would work.

"Oh yeah? Well I heard you tell that old guy that you were straying from the beaten path. _You_ don't' even know where you are. So how is your _armed search party_ gonna' find you?" The younger man reached out to caress Alex's whisker stubbled cheek, but Alex pulled back avoiding the man's touch. Clint croaked out a laughed, "Oh you are a cold fish... Arnt'ya..." 

"Keep your fucking hands off of me!" Hissed Alex. Knowing all the while that his warning was useless. It was five against one, which wouldn't be so bad except for the hand cuffs. All he could do was to fight them as hard as he could, endure what they had to dish out and then wait for an opportunity for escape to arise. 

Clint laughed and was joined in by the other four men, all of them younger than Alex, ranging in ages from 20 to 29. "Gimme' a knife Skeeter." He said, not taking his eyes off of his captive. 

The man named Skeeter was a handsome twenty year old with red hair and blue eyes. He fished into his back pocket and pulled out a Swiss army knife. He stepped up to the bed and crouched down next to Clint. Skeeter was the youngest of the group, therefore he was the one the others screwed the most. 

The red-head liked the look of the handcuffed older man. He couldn't wait to be the dominant one, to turn the green-eyed captive over and make him the victim; doing to the prisoner what the others had been doing to him for months. Skeeter handed the knife over to Clint. 

Alex could clearly see the longing in Skeeter's eyes. 

Licking his lips in a predatory manner, Skeeter ran a daring hand down Alex's jean-covered thigh. "I'd like to see what's underneath these." He commented. 

"Me too." Echoed J.R. 

Like Clint and Skeeter, J.R was another southerner. 

J.R came over and stood beside Skeeter, lechery and hunger for a warm, fresh body swimming in his eyes too. 

Another man, Bruce, stood on the other side of J.R, he said nothing at all, but simply stared like he was a starving man and Alex was the Easter goose. 

Alex darted his eyes at all five men. He did not like his odds of walking out of the place unscathed.

"What's the matter?" The Russian fumed, uncaring of the repercussions his sarcastic words would bring to him. "Can't find a woman on the account you're all so ugly!" He knew the men would do what they wanted to, to him, regardless. 

Clint reached out and grabbed Alex by the hair on the back of his head. "We used to have ourselves a lady, her name was Alice, pretty 'thang too. But we up and fucked her to death four months ago." Clint pulled Alex's face close and kissed him savagely. 

By now all of the others were kneeling down by the mattress too, watching Clint kiss Alex; like blackbirds on a telephone wire. 

Unwilling to be taken without a good fight, Alex struck out. He bit Clint's lip so hard that he took a chunk of it with him when Clint pushed him away from himself. The bitten man rolled around the floor in pain. 

Alex spit the piece of flesh back at its owner, who was busy yelling slurred obscenities and threats at him. Along with the fatty tissue, Alex made sure hit Clint in the face with a mouth full of his own blood. 

Clint put his hand to his damaged mouth trying to staunch the flow of blood. 

An instant after biting Clint, Alex stretched out his right leg and kicked the man named Harley, who was at the end of the mattress, right in the face. He heard the cartilage crunch and Alex knew that he had broken the man's acne-scarred nose. 

"Get him." Clint instructed, lisping his words because his mouth was swollen.

In the resulting melee, Alex had managed to slip one of the handcuffs by dislocating his right thumb. It was a small trick taught to him by his instructors when he was still a boy at the orphanage. 

For once, Alex praised growing up in the cursed place. 

Alex's bid for freedom however, was very short lived. As soon as he had made it to his knees the other three men, Bruce, J.R and Skeeter swarmed him. Alex fought them hard, fighting them off everything with he had but the lingering effects of the knock out drugs slowed down reflexes. 

"Hold him tight." J.R. instructed to the other two. 

Skeeter had managed to stretch Alex's arms painfully backwards above his head and held them there by pinning his wrists with his knees. He pulled a handcuff key out of his front pocket and undid the metal bracelet that Alex had escaped from. 

"Put it back on and tighten them this time." Instructed J.R in charge now that Clint was administering first aid to each himself and Harley. 

The red-head grinned and squeezed both cuffs around Alex wrists so tight that there wasn't even enough room for a child's pinky finger between the flesh and the steel. 

J.R pulled on a large chain that was laying on the floor at the head of the mattress. One end of the heavy link was anchored to the hard wood floor three feet away from the mattress and the other end he pad locked to a centre link on the handcuffs. 

Only when Alex's arms were safely secured did Skeeter get up. Clint murmured something to him, and then he left the room. 

"You sons of bitches!" Alex swore. "You'll for this." He yanked and pulled on the chain that held his arms over his head, heedless of the fact that he was bruising his wrists and rubbing the skin off. He tried to lash out using his powerful lets but the fifth thug, Bruce was sitting on them. The heavy set man clamped them down firmly against the mattress.   
Alex in his panic and anger switched from English to Russian and began hurling his curses at all of the men in his native tongue. 

This seemed to amuse the group watching over him to no end. Which angered the Russian even more. Finally, Skeeter returned and in his hand was a two-by-four that had been cut down to three feet. Attached at each end of the plain length of wood was a thick leather cuff, brown and unlined, about three inches in width. With a practiced hand, Skeeter quickly stripped off Alex's wool socks and pulled his bare ankles far apart while Bruce controlled his wildly bucking legs. Skeeter locked Alex's narrow ankles into the cuffs; pulling and belting the rough leather just as tightly as he had done with the handcuffs. 

"Arrrghh..." Alex screamed. In Russian he yelled, "You bastards! You're dead!" Then for their benefit he yelled in English, " I'll kill all of you!" 

Bruce stood up, Alex was now totally tractable and at the mercy of the five sex-starved men; two of them pissed off enough to hurt him seriously. 

Clint and Harley finished cleaning their wounds and approached the mattress, the whole group went back to staring at the red faced, yelling Alex 

. "You gotta' be able to get off of that bed in order to kill us." Clint sneered. He opened the palm of his hand and in it were two tiny green pills. "Tranks." He said conversationally. 

That stilled Alex's thrashing, he lay still, panting and glaring up at the leader of the group. 

"To help take the edge off." The southerner had really wanted to screw Alex while he was un drugged, but the older man was just too wild and unpredictable. Clint wanted Alex to stick around for a while; he was sick of humping Skeeter and his skinny ass. So the best way to make Alex's body last was to control him with drugs, of which, they had plenty of.   
"Hold his mouth open." Clint instructed J.R which he did by pinching just underneath Alex's cheekbones, forcing his jaw open. The leader dropped the tiny pills into the back of Alex's throat and the tablets began to dissolve the second that they came in contact with his saliva. Clint chased the pills down by squirting some water from the bottle into Alex's wide open mouth. 

Alex had no choice swallow the liquid or choke. 

J.R released Alex and took the bottle of water from Clint. 

Clint straddled Alex's thighs and fished the knife out of the pocket of his plaid shirt. "Now." He said as he opened the knife and began to cut away Alex's T-shirt. "I believe I was going to show the guys here what you looked like under all of these clothes, before you went an' got all 'uppity." 

"Fuck you." Hissed Alex watching as his T-shirt was tossed aside. His wrists burned and his ankles and calf muscles were aching but the men would never know it by just looking at him. 

Alex was an expert at hiding his emotions and burying physical pain. Another thing he was grateful to the orphanage for. 

"No, Mr. Foreign Language man, the idea is to fuck you." Clint laughed like he had just made some sort of a brilliant joke. He cut his way down the legs of Alex pants and tossed them away in the same direction of the shirt. 

"Ohh... Our boy here is a boxer-brief man." Clint cooed in a high falsetto voice as he ran the tip of the knife lazily over Alex's cotton-covered genitals. 

The other four men stared; held rapt by Alex's almost perfect body. None of them even came close to his beauty or his muscle tone and every one of them was much younger than Alex. 

All of the men in the room would have claimed to have been straight before the virus, though two of them would have been lying. But for the other three who were completely heterosexual before, now, to them, sex was sex. And with Alice long since dead, Alex looked like an oasis in the middle of the Gobi desert. 

"Your pills won't kick in and calm you down for another thirty minutes or more minutes." Said Clint leaving Alex's underwear on. He scooted up so that he was straddling Alex's waist and leaning in he said, "You killed our friend Johnnie and hurt Harley an' me. For that, I'm gonna make you pay." He dropped the knife over the side of the mattress as he spoke. 

Alex snorted loudly, clearing his sinus's, then hawked the disgusting matter directly in Clint's face. "I said, Fuck you. You're all goners." 

"YOU BASTARD! COCK SUCKING LITTLE PRICK!" Clint enraged beyond belief, wiped away the green mess and then punched Alex on his left cheek bone. His cock stiffened when his fist made contact with Alex's face, Clint got off on hurting others. Suddenly he flipped Alex over and yanked down his underwear. 

Immediately Alex's ass shot into the air and he gave a loud grunt from the ache. Hot spikes of pain jolted up the backs of his calf muscles. And now he understood the point of the 2 x 4 between his ankles. The apparatus gave easier access to an unwilling participants back side. 

"You're going to regret doing that!" Clint said, slapping Alex's left ass cheek hard, leaving a red print behind. "Gimme' the grease." 

At his request Skeeter passed him a small tube of gel that had been taken from a sex shop. It was not a true lubricant but something called _Penis Heat Cream_. As soon as the red coloured gel touched the skin it reacted immediately and began to heat up. The gel was harmless, it was cinnamon based and felt a lot like an analgesic arthritis rub would.   
Clint pushed Alex's grey boxers further down his well-muscled thighs and squeezed a liberal dollop at his small entrance. Before entering Alex, Clint donned a condom, he had no wish to make his cock burn and ache. 

The gel was from Johnnie's stuff, he had used it for his own personal pleasure. 

As soon as he had the condom on, Clint whispered evilly into Alex's ear, "This is going to hurt you a lot more than me." 

Then in one brutal stroke, he sank his cock all the way up Alex's tight, un giving ass. 

Alex had decided not to utter a sound but that resolution dissolved as soon as Clint entered him and he screamed from the bottom of his guts. The last time he had felt pain like this, ten young men were hacking away at his left arm. 

He had screamed his way through that experience too. 

Clint closed his eyes and lost himself in Alex's agony. 

Though the way was greased, Alex's tightness enfolded the young group leader; he could feel the heat from the cinnamon gel on his cock even through the latex. 

Stimulated on by his captives cries, it was only a matter of minutes before Clint came. 

He thrust inside of Alex until his convulsions subsided. He pulled out and looking down, smiled at his softening organ. The used condom was coated in gel and blood. Clint carefully pulled the rubber off and tossed it into a corner. 

Harley knelt down and undid the leather cuffs around Alex's ankles and threw the board aside. He was next and he wanted to be looking Alex right in his pretty face when he fucked him and he wanted to feel the heat of the lube on his cock as he did it too. A little bit of pain, even his own, was always pleasurable in Harley's opinion. 

Clint got up off of Alex and Harley moved him. He flipped Alex over and searched his eyes. "I'm usually fond of women,..." He said. "...but for you I'll make the exception." 

Alex just stared up defiantly at the blond haired man. His legs ached and his ass burned. His eyes were blurry from watering and his breathing came out in rapid pants. But for all of his internal aches and pains, his body, other than the bruise made by Clint and his raw wrists, showed no outward appearance of the abuse that he had just been through.   
As Harley hovered over him, all Alex could think of was finding a way to add to the broken nose that he had already bestowed upon the man. Suddenly, his arms began to feel light, like they were floating, and Alex knew that soon the drugs he had been forced to swallow would incapacitate him. Then he would not be able to strike back at them at all; leaving him at their mercy for the next couple of hours. Alex figured he had better get his licks in now. 

Undoing his fly and opening his pants, Harley pulled out his semierect cock and finished stroking it the rest of the way to life. "You guys mind?" He said without looking at the others. "This aint' no circle jerk, I'd like to be alone with doll face here." He smiled, "You'll get your chance at him soon enough."

Bruce, J.R and Skeeter started to protest but Clint chased them out of the room. "Come on," He said, "Y'all know Harley's shy." 

"I'm next." Muttered Bruce as he shut the door behind himself, leaving Alex and Harley alone. 

Harley stood up and removed his pants and his shirt, undressing slowly as he stared down at Alex. He had lied when he told Alex that he preferred women. The truth was, he like men just as much. Especially men like his prisoner; good-looking and muscular.   
Completely naked, he climbed back onto the mattress and straddled Alex's waist. "I bet you expect me to lean down and kiss you right now." He said, mockingly. 

Alex did not reply to that but thought, _Yes, please do, so I can rip your fucking tongue out of your face!_

"I won't though 'cause I know you'll just try to bite me." Harley laughed softly and ran his hands over the chiseled plains of Alex's chest. He pinched at the small nipples and then gave them a hard twist.   
"In another few minutes you'll be totally agreeable to what I want any ways. So I think I'll just wait a spell and explore your safer parts first." He moved down Alex's cold body and took the Russians flaccid penis into his mouth. 

That finally got a reaction from Alex. "Fucking Bastard." He said slowly, the pills hitting him now. "You're the first one to die." He squeezed his eyes shut and willed his cock not to rise, but as Alex already knew, wishes rarely came true. His penis rose, a mind of it's own, under Harley's careful and attentive ministrations. 

Harley felt Alex's large cock grow erect and he smiled around it. Forcing a person this way was so much more satisfying. Any old brute could overpower and hop on top of someone and rape them. But to mind fuck a person, to rape their intellect, that was something else all together. And it was Alex's protested pleasure that he wanted, to make a noncompliant subject submit and actually gain satisfaction from the forced encounter; it was how Harley gained his pleasure. Besides, the older man had hurt him and Harley didn't particularly feel like being nice right now anyway. 

He sucked and licked at Alex eagerly, carefully avoiding his ass, knowing that it was no longer a viable, erogenous zone. As he deep throated Alex's cock, Harley reached up with his hands and rubbed them across the smooth chest again, this time playing gently with Alex's nipples, softly teasing and caressing them until they were standing up and sensitive. 

Though the drugs were making Alex relaxed and mostly slow to react, there was still enough in him to orgasm and after about five minutes of Harley's blow-job, he did just that. He turned his head to the side in shame as he released his seed over Harley's calloused hand.   
Alex, because he had been knocked out, didn't know how long he had been held captive, but he hoped that Fox sake, that he would _not_ come looking for him. He couldn't bear for this to happen to his love. After the orgasm, Alex's body lost all motor control and he went limp. 

Shutting his eyes, Alex tried to feign sleep. 

Harley would not be fooled however, he looked at Alex and knew better. They had used these drugs many times and it was way too soon for the man to fall asleep. Reaching out he turned Alex's face up and forced him to look at him. "Look at me!" He ordered. "I know you're still awake. You won't a fall asleep for another hour or so." 

Alex opened his eyes slowly, but he really didn't _see_ with them. 

Harley stared down into his prisoner's vacant eyes. They were wide open and unblinking and reminded him of a kewpie doll's.   
"Doll eyes... to match the doll's face." He half whispered. In a normal tone he said to Alex, "You've had your fun, now it's time for me to have mine." He rubbed Alex's cold semen over his cock. "Keep lookin' at me." He ordered when Alex tried to shut his eyes again.   
"You hurt me bad pretty man. I don't like that." Harley shuffled his body so he was between Alex's legs, he pushed Alex's thighs up and back, "Pay back's a bitch aint' it?" He said then he thrust himself into the already lubricated opening. 

Alex mewled out a soft groan at the intrusion but that was all he could manage. Forced to watch, Alex saw the pleasure slide across his rapists face as he pushed into him time and time again. 

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Harley was done, it was Bruce's turn with Alex. 

And like Clint, Bruce was really rough with Alex. 

He was angry that he couldn't be fucking a woman instead of a man and even angrier still, that Alex no longer had the capability to fight him. But what pissed Bruce off the most was that he was stuck getting sloppy thirds after Clint and Harley. Bruce screwed Alex unemotionally, coming to his release quickly. He pushed off of the prone man and left the room, never on ce uttering so much as a single word to him. 

* * *

After Bruce came J.R and he was truly a sexual predator. J.R. didn't care whether Alex was male or female; willing or not. By the time he had a go at Alex, the Russian was beaten and exhausted. J.R wiped the dripping blood from Alex's nose and cleaned up the handsome man's face for him using a rag and some bottled water. J.R removed only his pants and forced Alex to suck him off. All the while Alex was giving him a blow job, J.R called Alex derogatory names. He whispered things to him like, "What a sweet bitch..." and took great pleasure in tell Alex that he was "... nothing but a whore and a slut..."

As J.R said these things, Alex flashed back to a time at the centre when the director of the place had said much the same words to him. Though his body felt boneless and he was unable to really speak or fight back, Alex's mind was working at almost 100%. He could hear, comprehend and remember every vile word and act that the men had done to, and were doing to him. 

J.R's groin was situated directly over top of Alex's face. He stretched his torso out over top of Alex's chained arms. He wrapped his large hands around Alex's forearms and dug his fingers into the soft flesh painfully. Leaving several bruises. He pushed his hard cock down Alex's throat, uncaring of the gagging his victim was doing. Just seconds before he came, J.R pulled out of Alex's mouth and finished himself off; squirting his hot seed all over Alex's face. 

All Alex could do was close his eyes and try not to let in any of the semen into his eyes. He tried to bury the humiliation he felt deep. 

Afterwards, J.R. scooped up a gout of his own cum and spread it over Alex's bruised, full lips. He pushed some into Alex's mouth using two fingers.   
"You Mr...." J.R. husked, "...have a pretty mouth. Though your technique could use some work..." J.R laughed at his own joke.   
"How do I taste?" He asked, wiping up Alex with the wet face cloth. J.R wiped most of his spunk off of Alex's face; only missing a few stray drops in the hairline and over the chest.   
J.R. sat on the mattress beside Alex and said as he pulled on his jeans, "I think you've done that before." He patted Alex's flat abdomen. "Don't worry your secrets' safe with me." Standing up, J.R buttoned his fly.   
The room was cold and Alex's pallor had turned to a ghostly white, his body started to shiver slightly, trying to warm itself up.   
"Cold?" J.R asked. "Don't' worry, Skeeter'll warm you up." 

* * *

Skeeter, in the beginning had only wanted to treat Alex like the victim he was. To hurt him like Bruce and Clint had sometimes hurt him. 

When their other prisoner, Alice was alive, the men mostly left him alone, sometimes J.R. or Harley would come to him wanting a hand job or a blow-job and he would comply. But after Alice had died, Clint and Bruce seemed to get meaner or maybe they were the same and he just never noticed before. Skeeter couldn't bring himself to pay a visit to poor Alice, because the truth was, he preferred men.   
Especially men who were beautiful and beautifully built, like Alex was. The older man's long lean lines were appealing, even under his clothing. 

Skeeter would have preferred to have been with Alex in a consensual sexual situation but since there was no way that their captive would submit willingly, it would have to been done without his permission. 

The first Skeeter did when he came into the room was to raise Alex's head a little bit and give him a drink of water. Then he wiped the well used man's body with a warm wash cloth.   
After that, Skeeter masturbated himself ready, which didn't take long considering he was studying Alex's form while he did it. He lay down on top of Alex and very slowly, very lovingly, using a condom made love to the man below him. 

It didn't matter however, how gentle Skeeter was or how slow he went, Skeeter was still having intercourse with Alex, against his will.

No meant no. 

Alex lay there limply and wondered if this was his real retribution for all of the sins that he had committed. That having his arm cut off without the aid of anesthetic was not enough of a penalty but was merely a forewarning of things to come. 

After all, he had gotten his arm back, so technically it couldn't be considered a punishment anymore. 

As soon as Skeeter was finished, the young man wiped Alex clean and called J.R. into the bedroom. Together they got Alex up and helped him to go to the bathroom. After that, they slipped on a T-shirt and some underwear on him. 

They rearranged Alex's position and settled him at the other end of the bed so that his left ankle was now cuffed and not his wrists. 

After they had done all that, J.R had Alex swallow down another two pills. 

J.R. left while Skeeter covered Alex up with an old quilt. He plopped himself down on the floor next to the mattress and sat guard until he was certain the prisoner was asleep. The pills that J.R had given Alex ensured that he would sleep for at least eight hours if not more.   
The time was late, satisfied that Alex would not wake up, Skeeter pulled the scratchy coverings tight up under Alex's stubbled chin and shut the lantern out. 

* * *

**Two Days Later  
The Hoover Building.**

"What do you mean we can't go searching for him?!" Mulder yelled at Skinner, frantic that his lover was more than twenty-four hours late. "He's over due! What more do you need to know!" His worry was for the man was uncontainable. 

Mulder along with Scully, Skinner, Josh and the Lone Gun Men was pacing around the conference room nervously, arguing with Skinner and Scully, all in an effort to get Walter to release some men for a search party. 

"Would you just calm down for a minute!" Scully snapped at Mulder, tired of his _over protective lover_ routine.

"Calm down!? Don't you tell me to Calm down!" Retorted Mulder angrily to Scully. 

"Would you both just... shut... up!" Skinner shouted at both of them. Scully immediately turned her glare on Skinner. 

Mulder turned from them both and happened to catch the look in Josh's eyes. 

The younger man's face was frozen into a grimace and Mulder could tell that he did not like being ordered off of a search and rescue mission either. 

"Don't you dare tell me to shut up Walter Skinner!" Said Dana, furious with her lover. "Why I oughta'..." 

Skinner put his arms around Dana's waist and pulled her into the corner and talked to her in hushed, soothing tones. 

Mulder didn't know what was being said to her, and he didn't care either. What he did care about was going out looking for his lover. Alex had been legitimately gone for a week fulfilling his mission directives and Mulder had pined away for him the whole time.   
When he failed to appear as promised, Mulder immediately got a bad feeling. Alex had promised to return on time, and Mulder knew that something had to have gone wrong in order for Alex not to keep his word. He reached out for his lover several times and though he sensed that Alex was alive, Mulder could not tell much else; like his condition or his location.   
Tragically, when Mulder had reached out to see if Bill Davis might not be easier to read, he could not feel anything at all. A shudder passed over him and he knew that the experienced agent was no longer alive. 

All this he had told to Skinner but it was to no avail. 

"Excuse me...?" Mulder interrupted rudely. "But could we get back to Alex." 

Skinner frowned at his former employee, frustrated with his childish behavior. "Look Mulder, there is a blizzard raging out there and as long as I'm in charge I say we wait until the storm blows it's self out. Alex wouldn't want others to risk their well being for his life." 

"How the fuck would you know what Alex would want..." Mulder interrupted. 

"I've given you my final word." Skinner cut Mulder off mid-sentence. "No search party leaves this building until the weather clears." 

"Fine." Mulder said tightly. Spinning on his heel stalked out of the room, followed closely by Josh. 

"Mulder." Josh called, he grabbed the agent by the arm and spun him around.

"What!?" Mulder snapped. When he realized that it was Josh who had stopped him, he took a deep calming breath, and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. He shouldn't be angry with Josh, after all, the young man argued vigorously with Skinner about going out and searching for Alex and Bill. Mulder was still very aware however, that Josh did have an ulterior motive for wanting to go; namely his crush on Alex.   
"What is it Josh?" Mulder asked again, his voice trying for neutrality. 

"Skinner can't stop us from going out on our own you know. If you want, I'll outfit us both and we'll pull out of here before dark. We can trace Alex and Davis's mission; follow in their footsteps. I know the mission details." 

Mulder smiled, ulterior motives or not, he admired the kid's spirit. "All right. Lets do it." 

"Good. Come with me and I'll explain where the two of them were going while we get ready." 

* * *

**Two Hours Later  
The Surface**

Mulder and Josh shrugged on their heavy back packs, which were full with everything they would need for a cold weather survival expedition. Each man would be riding on this own snow mobile, with Josh carrying the emergency supplies and stores for Alex underneath the seat of his and Mulder would pull provisions, lashed firmly to a sled behind him.   
They had decided to bring the sled because they still didn't know what condition they would find Alex in. Mulder was still having difficulty getting an accurate bead on Alex and his whereabouts. The only thing that he for sure was that his lover was still alive.   
Frohicke escorted the two men to the main doors and locked it behind them when they walked out. No the former agents were sitting aloft of the snow mobiles outside of the Hoover building gearing up to go. 

Josh turned to Mulder and said, "Before we go Mulder, I want to clear the air between us." 

Mulder faced Josh. "Okay." He replied, puzzled. "What is it?" 

"Before Alex left, I made a pass at him." 

"And?" Mulder's heard was thumping with jealousy. 

"And, he told me that he already had a lover that he was quite fond of. But that he was in need a friend." Josh replied honestly. 

"I see." Mulder didn't quite know what to say to the younger man. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked finally. 

"Because I just wanted you to know the truth. I'm doing this because I still love Alex, even though he doesn't return the feelings. I can't help my self, it's not easy to fall out of love, especially when your _supposed_ too." Josh's lips formed a thin line, "I not to interfere again. Alex has offered me friendship and I'll accept it. Gladly. I'll just have to do a better job of hiding my feelings and keeping them to myself. That's all" Josh shook his head and said after a pause, "I just thought you should know where I stand." 

"All right." Mulder said. "I appreciate the candor." _I think._

Josh pulled down his goggles, fired up the snow mobile, and started in the direction of the Baltimore space craft. 

* * *

**Five Days Later  
The Mansion**

"Alex." Harley cooed softly into his sleeping captive's ear. "Time for another shot." He sank the needle into Alex's vein and pushed in another dose of synthetic cocain into the Russians tired body. The band of men holding Alex had all agreed to feed him the drugs regularly as a means of controlling him. 

An un drugged Alex was just too painful; all of the men now sported bruises from the angry hostage, meted out in his more lucid moments. 

The drugs made Alex docile enough so that one handcuff locked around a single ankle was all that was needed to keep him restrained. The mood altering drugs also made it easy for the men to perform the necessities with Alex, like going to the toilet and washing up. 

As a result of his growing addiction, they didn't need to feed Alex very much, his appetite was already decreasing. It had been some five full days since the gang of thugs had taken him and during that time all five men had treated him badly. Whether it was their intention too or not. 

Now Alex knew how Alice, his predecessor, could have been fucked to death; she had most likely died of neglect. 

An apathetic Alex thanked Harley silently for the drugs, because when he was numb from the high he didn't have to feel the stinging humiliation of being used. He had had to put up with it for years as a child and a teenager. But now, to have to go through it again as an adult, was just too much for Alex to cope with. He welcomed the stark nothingness that the cocain provided. Alex knew that his body was already addicted to the powerful pharmaceutical grade powder but he didn't care. Instead he prayed to a god, a god that he used to have faith in as a child, that the next dose would be his last. He hoped Harley would overdose him either accidentally or intentionally... It didn't matter which. 

* * *

Already naked, Harley lay down facing Alex and pulled him in close to his chest. He kissed Alex's full, unresisting mouth tenderly. Surprising actions, considering that five days ago he was right into brutalizing the man.   
But somewhere along the way, over the span of the last few days, Harley had started to feel something for Alex. It had happened during the intentional addicting of Alex to the drugs; he was the one who had been elected to administer them to Alex around the clock. 

Now, instead of hurting Alex, Harley just wanted to make love to his sweet hostage. 

Sweet, tender passionate love, not unlike how Skeeter had felt. Though unlike Skeeter, Harley had no compunctions about what he was doing. Alex was their captive, held in the mansion against his will, forcibly confined and used as a party favor when all the Russian wanted was to be let go. 

"Alex, Kiss me." Harley whispered into his face, pulling the limp, semiconscious man toward him so that their bare chests touched.

Alex responded, scarcely registering what he was doing, but obeying the command nonetheless. 

* * *

"He's in there Josh, I can feel him. They've given him something and he's fading fast." Mulder and Josh had followed Alex's trail to the campsite that he and Davis had made.   
Neither man could even guess as to why the duo would have strayed so far from the original plan. Once at the campsite, the two former agents found Bill Davis in the shallow grave; it had been disinterred by coyotes. 

They took the time to bury the older man properly, with Josh saying a prayer for his soul. But as soon as they were done, the team took off in the direction that Alex's abductors had taken him. 

Mulder was acutely aware of Alex and his despair, he was so tuned into his lover that he could feel Alex's profound wish to die. It was then, that Mulder realized that Alex was being drugged which was why he couldn't always sense him. 

The trail led them to a small tangle of trees in front of an old, rundown mansion. And now the two of them were preparing to go in and retrieve Alex. As they were doing that, another snow storm had started to kick up. 

Josh checked the clip in his gun and made sure his spare ammo was handy, double checking to be sure that the guns' safety was off. Mulder standing across from Josh mirrored his actions. 

"You go in first, I'll cover you. Can you tell where he is?" Josh asked. 

"He's in a back bedroom. Someone's with him." Mulder hissed. He _knew_ that a man named Harley was with Alex, and that he was in the process of seducing the barely responsive Alex; kissing and laying next to him with a hard-on. Mulder's face turned red his heart rated pulsed with outrage. 

"You okay Mulder?" Josh asked.

"I'm fine." He snapped. "There are four more men sleeping inside, each of them in their own room." 

"I'll take care of the sleepers, you go and get Alex. We'll meet in the middle." 

* * *

"Get your hands off of him." Mulder hissed. 

Harley froze as soon as he felt the gun barrel pressed against his temple; his erection deflating immediately. Harley had been in the process of making Alex ready for entry while still kissing the bruised up Russian. 

"NOW! Before I kill you!" Mulder wanted to kill the stranger any ways.

Harley slowly got to his knees and stood up. He turned to face the angry man, obviously Alex had been telling the truth when he threatened them on his first night here that someone would come looking for him. 

"Get dressed." Mulder ordered. "Against the far wall, spread em'. A piece of shit like you knows the drill." 

Harley, who had been in trouble with the law many times before, turned and faced the wall, assuming _the position_. 

Mulder tried not look to closely at his lover; he didn't dare let his attention be diverted from the man standing before him. Hearing foot steps behind him, Mulder stepped back a few paces in order to keep an eye on the door and Harley. 

In trooped four semi-dressed men followed closely by an angry Josh. 

"Found them all." He said to Mulder. "Go stand by your friend." He ordered _his_ prisoners sharply. They did as they were told and all five men stared impassively at the bland white wall. Josh, like Mulder didn't dare take his eyes off of the men. 

From the corner of his eye Josh could see Alex and the ruined condition that he was in. But he stomped on his emotions, he could not feel sorry for his friend just yet. And there would be plenty of time later to exact retribution for their heinous acts later. Right now they had to get out Alex of this place. Josh let his anger surround him but not control him.   
"I got em'." He said to Mulder evenly, meaning that he would watch the residents of the mansion. 

Released, Mulder dropped to his knees. "Alex... Oh Alex... " He cried softly, taking his lover gently into his arms. "Wake up Alex." 

"I told you to face the wall Mother Fucker!" Josh yelled menacingly when Skeeter tried to look over his shoulder at Alex. "If any one of you so much as farts I'll kill ya!" 

Alex opened his eyes when he heard the familiar loving voice call to him... "F... Fox?" He asked incapable of focusing in on his lover. 

"Yes Alex... It's Fox." Mulder gently wiped away some dirt off of one bruised cheek bone. He pulled a lock pick from his coat pocket and within seconds had the handcuff around Alex's ankle undone and off. 

A shot rang out and Jimmy-ray fell to the ground screeching in pain, none of the four others dared to make a move to help him. 

"I told you not to move and I meant it." Josh had only shot J.R. through the meat on the underside of his triceps muscle. 

"Josh?" Alex asked Mulder weekly. 

"It's Josh." Mulder replied quietly. He had found Alex's ruined clothes in the corner of the room and stared at them disgustedly; they had been cut up. Going through his own knapsack, Mulder pulled out the spare stuff that he had brought along _just in case_. Kneeling down, Mulder began to dress the rubbery limbed Alex.

"Were gonna got you out of here." Mumbled Mulder more for his own reassurance than for his lover's. "I'm sorry I'm so out of it." Alex said slowly. "They've been giving me stuff." He tried to sound angry but couldn't. 

"What did you give him?" Josh yelled to the backs of the men. When no one answered him he said between clenched teeth, "Someone had better tell me right now, before I shoot one of you in the back." 

Skeeter flinched and babbled, "Cocain. Harley made it from stuff he took from the pharmacy." 

"Sons of bitches!" Mulder hissed under his breath. He pulled on Alex's coat, which was still in good shape and then sat him up. It was apparent that Alex would not be walking out of the mansion; the Russian was unsteady just sitting.   
Between the drugs, rem sleep deprivation mixed in with the lack of food and water, the effects of how he had been existing the last five days had finally taken their toll. 

Alex had just barely finished recovering from his year-long stay at the rebel ship. 

Mulder put Alex over his shoulder and then grabbed the back of Josh's pants to help pull himself up. Alex's body was so cold from being in the unheated bedroom that he was growing hypothermic. 

"Got him?" Josh asked without taking his eyes off of his targets. 

"I got him." Mulder said, steadying himself. Skinny or not, Alex was all dead weight, and still heavy to carry. "You coming?" He asked. 

"Go to the snowmobile and get Alex settled first. Honk when you're ready and I'll come running." Josh said in an even, authoritative tone. 

* * *

The snowmobiles were parked close by and luckily the blowing wind had covered the sound of the motors when they first approached.   
The wind had picked up even more while Josh and Mulder were inside the mansion and the snow blew by so fast that it stung Mulder's cheeks when the delicate flakes hit him. He hurried to his transportation, relieved that they had thought to move all of the supplies over to the back of Josh's snowmobile before getting Alex. He propped Alex up in the seat of his mobile and pushed the piled up snow off of the sled.   
Once done, he picked Alex up again and carefully settled him into the snug sled. Mulder secured Alex in then covered him up, from head to toe, with a canvass tarp. The canvass kept the snow off of the unconscious man yet allowed him to breathe freely. 

Mulder honked the horn several times, hoping that Josh would hear it over the whining wind. 

* * *

A faint honking noise carried over the wind and to Josh's ears; Mulder was ready to leave. He looked at all of the men, disgusted by their animalistic behavior. Josh pictured Alex and the poor condition his friend was in; he knew without having to be told what they had done to him.   
He thought, _What if someone else, an innocent civilian crosses these bastards paths? Who would rescue them?_

Finally letting his anger take him over, Josh did what he thought was right and shot all five men. Making sure none of them were left breathing. 

* * *

Mulder's head snapped up. _Was that gunfire?_ He crossed to Josh's snowmobile and started it for him. 

A minute later the young man appeared through the white blanketed fir trees. "Lets get out of here." He yelled. 

Mulder pulled out first, picking his way slowly over the terrain while Josh followed making sure that Alex did not flip over. 

The men only managed to go about ten kilometers' when Josh pulled alongside of Mulder. "We have to hole up somewhere and let this storm pass." He said reasonably. 

Mulder nodded in agreement, they were on the outskirts of a condo complex for senior citizens. "Let's find a place here." He shouted back, putting the snow mobile in gear. 

* * *

They had wisely chosen a small dwelling because it would be easier to keep warm; the complex that they were staying in appeared abandoned. Luckily the fireplace was a traditional wood burning one and not gas. Josh found the deceased owners abandoned wood pile out back and immediately set to work building a fire. 

Mulder in the meantime, spread out their high density pieces of foam on the ground and pushed them together. He made up one giant bed for all three of them, using the owner's flannel linens and bedding that he had raided from the master bedroom and a hall closet.   
Stripping Alex right to his freezing cold skin, Mulder gave his lover a hasty exam, determining that though he was cut and bruised there wasn't really too much bodily damage.   
Mulder grimaced when he saw a small red spot in Alex's shorts, but even in that, there wasn't really anything he could for him, except to make sure that he was not bleeding profusely. Which he wasn't. He tried to rouse Alex while he had been examining him, but the Russian would not come fully awake, which really worried Mulder.   
After looking him over, Mulder pushed Alex into the middle of the large bed and tucked the thick, king-sized down quilt underneath the sleeping man's chin. Remembering what he should do in case of shock, Mulder put a pillow under both Alex's head and feet. 

Josh brought in as much wood as he thought they would need and stoked the fire. Satisfied with it, he put the screen up and reached for a packet of food. Tearing off the top of the foil pouch, he ate the wieners and beans cold; like Mulder was now doing. 

"Is he going to be okay?" Josh asked, afraid of the answer.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know." Mulder looked past Josh out of a window that was set high up in the wall. He spoke to the darkness that was falling as rapidly as the snow. "He's really cold, we need to eat then crawl into bed with him and try to warm him up." 

Josh nodded his head in agreement, but did not reply. 

There was a few minutes of silence between the men, each of them lost in their own thoughts. 

"Josh?" Mulder said finally, still staring out the window; shoving the cold food into his mouth methodically. 

"Yes?" Josh replied around a mouth full of beans. 

"Was that gunfire I heard back at the mansion?" He pulled his eyes away from the uncovered window and looked at Josh expectantly. 

Josh, an incredibly bad liar, said. "Yes. I... I... Fired a few warning shots just to make sure that they wouldn't try to follow us." He licked his lips and darted his eyes left and right, unable to make direct eye contact with Mulder. 

Mulder recognizing the lie for what it was, accepted it as fact. _Better not to know the truth anyway._ "Okay." He said. "Eat up and let's get to bed." 

Josh nodded and finished up quickly. He completed his normal bedtime routine of brushing his teeth and relieving himself as did Mulder. After adding wood to the fire, he stood next to the cozy nest of down and stripped to his underwear. 

Mulder stripped to his boxer's too and then both of them climbed in on either side of Alex. Immediately Alex rolled over and pulling Mulder into his chest, spooned in behind him. This made the former smile with relief, perhaps Alex wasn't as bad off as he seemed if he was cognizant enough to seek warmth from him. 

Josh, with his heart aching and bearing a hard on he wished he didn't have, cuddled in behind Alex. He put his warm chest to Alex's back but did not push his hips too closely to Alex's behind, it didn't seem right to Josh that he would have an erection at such an inappropriate time.   
Especially when taking into consideration that Alex was completely out of it and the only reason he was in bed with the man in the first place was to warm him up. Josh sighed heavily, and shut his eyes, damning his cock to hell. 

Mulder heard Josh's sigh and could guess what it was all about. He admired the young man's ability to stay clinical and remote, even though he still had feelings for Alex. "Good night Josh." Mulder said, pulling Alex's arm tighter over his own waist so he could hold the chilled hand. 

"'Night Mulder." Josh echoed, and despite it being only eight in the evening he was ready for sleep. 

"Don't worry Mulder, Alex will be all right." Josh said after a minute, his voice soft. "We'll get him back to the bunker and Dr. Scully will fix him up. Just like new." 

"Yeah, well, if this storm doesn't break, we'll just have to wait here and hope." Mulder stared into the flames of the fire. 

"If Alex and Bill could succeed in killing all those aliens—two agents against thousands—then two men versus some snow should be a piece a cake." Josh said optimistically. 

Mulder didn't to reply to that, but oddly enough, the young man's confidence boosted his own spirits. Josh was just cocky enough to succeed. If he was crazy enough to have faith in their abilities then why didn't he? _Cause you're too worried about Alex! Josh is right about one thing Alex does need Scully and as soon as possible._   
He steeled his resolve and said to Josh, "Okay, we leave tomorrow, first light, no matter what the conditions. Deal?" 

"Deal." 

"All right then. Let's get some shut eye, I'm exhausted." 

"Me too." Josh replied through a yawn. 

Sleep however, did not come as easily to the two men as they would have liked it too. Their brains worked over time with worry for Alex, who seemed to be the only one able to slumber peacefully. 

* * *

**The Next Day  
Late Evening**

"Mulder." Scully called softly to Mulder, who was sleeping in what had to be an uncomfortable chair. He woke instantly with a start. She smiled at his rumpled appearance and whispered quietly, "Let's talk outside." 

Mulder gave his peacefully sleeping lover a look of longing over his shoulder before leaving the room. 

Alex was in the infirmary of the shelter and had been resting peacefully with the aid of sedation. The trio had been back for over 12 hours now and for almost the whole time Mulder had been at Alex's side. 

As luck would have it, at some point during the night, the storm had blown its self out. So when Josh and Mulder woke up that morning, they were greeted by a brilliantly sunny day; as if in reward for their bravery and determination. 

Shutting the door to Alex's room, Scully smiled at Mulder and said, "Don't worry. All his tests check out, he's going to be fine." 

Mulder sighed in relief then reached out and hugged Scully tightly to his chest. "Thank god..." He whispered into her hair, his voice husky with emotion. "Thank god." He said again. A single tear had escaped from his eye, but he quickly wiped it away. 

Scully patted Mulder's back a few times then eased out of his arms. "Alex woke up when he was being examined. That right there was a good sign. The combination of plenty of fluids along with some IV protein perked him up.   
He might have a hard time getting the cocain out of his system and he will feel some discomfort from the withdrawal once he's home. But Krycek is strong, he'll overcome the physical wounds... Um... " Scully hesitated. "What is it?" Mulder asked. 

"I don't know how to tell you this... I think you already can guess this, but Krycek was... ra..." She couldn't seem to find the words. 

"Just spit it out Scully." Mulder said, knowing what she was going to say already. 

"Alex was sexually assaulted." She said it quickly, so the words wouldn't stick in her throat. 

"Many times." A bright red flush stained her face. Blushing was something she never did and she didn't quite know why now except that having to examine Krycek that way, even if she did only assist a male helper, put a human face on the man that she honestly, until that day, despised. 

While Mulder and Josh were gone off in search of Krycek, Walter had convinced her that she should just let bygones be bygones. 

She agreed with her lover's arguments. However she still did not like Alex Krycek and probably never would warm to him. But she was willing to try and be civil with him, for both Mulder and Walter's sake.   
As soon as she had seen Alex upon his return, she was glad that she had come to that decision. Because one look at the former triple agent told her that despite all that he had done in the past, no one deserved the kind of abuse that he had been subjected too in the last week. 

She herself was changing, and in a very big way. 

Dana figured that if Fox Mulder was willing to forget that he was sleeping with his half -brother, the killer of many, then she was willing to put aside her issues, and get along too. 

"Alex was torn up a little bit, but we didn't have to stitch him at least. That was when he first woke up, when Robert was examining him internally. Krycek became very distressed, but was coherent enough to realize where he was and what was happening to him." She cleared her throat. "We checked him for viruses', everything came back clean except for a small dose of the clap. But another few days of penicillin and that will clear right up. Now for the good news." She rubbed the side of Mulder's arm in a reassuring manner. "He can go home with you tomorrow. Physically Alex will make a complete recovery. Physiologically he's going to need help... but that's more your department than mine."   
She smiled softly and dropped her hand. Chewing on her bottom lip, Scully contemplated for a second then said, "I have something else to tell you." 

"What?" Mulder asked, once again his relief replaced by anxiety. 

"No... No." She assured Mulder. "It's great news. The very best." 

"That would be nice to hear for a change. What is it?" 

"I'm pregnant." A large smile broke out over the petite redheads face and she blushed again. 

"What? How? I thought you were..." Mulder stuttered. 

"Sterile? I know, me too. But yet here I am thirteen weeks along. Already through my first trimester." Scully instinctively put her small hands across her flat belly. 

"Walter? He's the father?" Mulder said, playfully. 

Scully slapped Mulder in the arm and suddenly it seemed just like old times again. "Of course the baby's Walter's!" 

Mulder pulled Scully back into another tight embrace. "I'm so happy for you." He said and meaning it. After a second he quipped, "Dana Scully, the mother of the new world." 

That elicited a groan from the woman in his arms. 

* * *

After a midnight supper alone in his apartment, Mulder went back to the infi rmary. He wanted to sit with his Alex for a little while more before going to bed himself. 

Alex had woken up a little while earlier and had told Mulder everything that had happened to him. From the reason why he and Davis had strayed to the older man's death and his rescue; Alex spilled it all. 

"Hold me Fox..." He said softly, the anguish in his voice tangible. 

"...Hold me tight." And Mulder did. He crawled right into the small bed with his lover and held on for dear life as the Russian shook from the shock and the remembrance of the details. Afterwards, Mulder had Robert give Alex a mild sedative to help him sleep through the rest of the night. He hoped that the sedative _would_ interfere and keep Alex's bad dreams at bay. 

As Mulder entered the infirmary, he saw Samantha through the large glass window in the wall of Alex's room. She was sitting in the large chair next to the bed holding Alex's limp hand. And as soon as he walked in she began drying her tears. 

"Sam." He said softly. 

"Fox." Replied Samantha, startled and a little unnerved by Fox's presence. Since coming to the shelter she had only spoken to her brother on the phone system and via letters and notes... but not in person. 

Samantha Mulder had not laid eyes on her brother since she saw him shoot her father that night long ago in D.C. "I'm sorry. I should go. He wouldn't want me sitting here and crying over him any ways." She said, trying to leave. 

"No. Don't go. Stay. Please." Mulder pleaded to her with his eyes. 

Samantha looked sadly at Alex. "Okay." She agreed. "Alex will recover won't he?" She asked, frightened for her friend. 

"Yes. He's just sedated right now. He's been through a lot." Mulder grabbed her hand and held it softly in his own, "Let's sit outside and talk." 

He led her to the couch just outside of Alex's room. Robert, Scully's assistant was working at a desk across the room from them, the lighting was dim and minimal, putting both Mulder and Sam at ease. 

They sat and after a moment of awkward silence it was Sam who began to speak first. 

"Alex came to me one night," She said wistfully, "...When I first arrived here and talked to me. Not at me, like Dr. Scully and Mr. Skinner did with all of their nosy questions, but _to_ me. He made me feel at ease around him. Alex told me that we were alike he and I that we were both outsiders and our only link to the shelter was you... Fox." 

A tear slid down her prominent cheek bone and Mulder wanted to reach out and wipe it away for her but he resisted. 

"Alex understood things about me and father, things that went on between us..." Her voice trailed off for a second, as if she was recalling a specific incident before going on to say, "...Alex said that it had been the same for him too." 

Mulder winced at the mention of the abuse. He already knew all about what had happened to Alex, but his lover had not mentioned Samantha's own plight. 

Perhaps because it was not his secret to reveal. 

As Samantha spoke she stared at shadow playing on the wall, her voice even and melodic, "Alex explained to me that it was okay to still love _him_..." 

Mulder knew who she meant by him; Carl Spender. 

"...no matter how evil he was" She turned her gaze on her brother, "Alex told me that you loved him, despite everything he had done. He also said that he was about as evil as they came." She looked to her left and studied Alex through the window for a few seconds. "Hmm... He looks like an angel to me." She admitted, shaking her head, "I can't even picture Alex doing bad things." 

Mulder turned to watch his lover sleep too and he silently agreed with his sister. Alex did look like an angel. "Alex used to do bad things for reasons he thought were right. Believe me, I know. But that's the old Alex. He's changed now, only he won't allow himself to shed the guilt from his old life. It's how he punishes himself, a self imposed penance." 

Sam reached out and held both of her brother's hands. "One night Alex and I talked about you. He told me everything. Especially about what kind of man you are. Alex said you were dedicated and loved those around you intensely. He admires your determination so much." She gave Mulder a small smile despite the lone teardrop slowly sliding down her face. 

Mulder merely nodded, he didn't know what to say to that. 

"He also said that after I had disappeared you blamed yourself and never stopped searching for me. That you refused to give up." Her tears flowed freely now. 

Mulder could not hold back his own tears. "No. I never stopped hoping. You're my only sister Samantha and I love you. Always." 

Sam sniffed and brushed at the drops of water, the wet tracks tickling in their wake. "And I lo... love you." She said just before leaning in and hugging her brother. 

* * *

**Epilogue  
Two Weeks Later**

The lovers lay close; as if woven together beneath the warm flannel sheets of their bed. Alex had his arm draped loosely across Mulder's waist and was using his broad, lightly furred chest as a pillow. 

Mulder, needing to keep lover near, had his arm wrapped tightly round Alex's shoulders and held him close. 

Tonight had been the first time that they had made love since Alex had returned home. The lovemaking had been a fragile affair, Mulder was very afraid at first that he was going to hurt Alex. But the extra long, extra loving session ended with orgasmic satisfaction for both of them.   
In the beginning, Fox worried that it was too soon for intercourse but Alex took the initiative; and Mulder instead. It wasn't often that Mulder was on the bottom, but Alex, needing to be in control, pleasured Mulder and himself slowly, needing to feel the love again. 

Between soft caresses and declarations of eternal love, Fox and Alex climaxed together. 

Exhausted, Alex had fallen asleep amid his post coital glow and was now twitching from a vivid nightmare of the mansion. 

Mulder invaded Alex's unconsciousness and slowly guided him away from the horrifying recollections to a bright, sunny day and a tranquil meadow full of colourfull wild-flowers. 

Alex relaxed and Mulder turned his own thoughts back to him and Alex. 

Mulder's thoughts were very much about how his lover. A man who had torn apart many people's lives with his actions. Who had killed and maimed many more but yet, bore the unreasonable brunt of responsibility for the destruction of the earth's people. He knew that the Russian now felt that it was somehow fell to his responsibility to try and save the few of those who were left from the invaders clutches. 

Which was the real reason why Krycek had volunteered to go on the mission in the first place. The Russian had succeeded in killing thousands of alien beings thus buying the human race a little more valuable time. 

Alex wore his past bad deeds and crimes like scars, unwilling to forgive himself for all of the sins he had committed. But he had paid for his sins, dearly, twice over. It seemed that if it wasn't for bad luck, Alex Krycek would not have any luck at all. Because even his good intentions had somehow managed to backfire and he wound up being punished for those too. 

Worse still, it had been Bill Davis who had paid the ultimate price for Alex's good intentions. He paid with his life, a fact that Alex was going to have to live with the rest of _his_ life. Just one more incident that Mulder knew Alex would carry around; never to absolve himself of. Yet through all of the bad things that had been going on, the Russian had managed to make some good things come about too.   
It had been Alex who had brought Mulder and his sister together. Once again though it was Alex who had sacrificed himself by insisting that Mulder not acknowledge Alex's real kinship to her.   
And Alex was adamant that the secret be kept, even going so far as to go to Scully in person to swear her to secrecy.   
Due to his successful mission, and despite the death of Davis, Alex had been accepted by all the others of the small group, and even to a certain extent, by Scully. 

Though she accepted Alex's presence in Mulder's life, he knew that Scully would never fully forgive Alex nor forget his role in her abduction and in the death of her beloved sister. 

Alex knew this too, so by silent agreement the issue would not be brought up again. 

* * *

As Mulder lay their musing about these things and more, Alex slowly came awake. His dream of a fragrant warm field of flowers retreating. "What are you doing awake Fox?" Alex asked sleepily. 

"Laying here and thinking." He replied, softly running his finger tips over Alex's shoulder.

"About what?" Alex asked, playing idly with the hairs around Mulder's navel. "About how lucky I am..." Mulder switched to carding his fingers gently through Alex's silky brown hair. 

"Lucky." Alex snorted softly, "How?" 

"Well, the virus didn't kill me for starters. And I have my baby sister back for another... thanks to you." He pulled Alex even closer and kissed the top of his head. "You did some major damage to the aliens, Spender is dead and I've got my brother and my lover in my arms to keep me safe. Samantha and you are all I'll ever want... All I'll ever need." He whispered huskily into Alex's clean hair. 

"We won a battle Fox. Not the war. Killing those aliens was a group effort." Alex planted a few soft kisses on Mulder's chest, even now refusing to accept the accolades for the success. 

"Yeah, but we'll keep on fighting _them_ Alex." Mulder vowed. "You and me... until the very end." 

* * *

NOVEMBER-1999   
PAIRINGS: Alex Krycek/Fox Mulder.   
RATING: NC 17— Contains explicit depiction of sexuality between men.   
WARNING: This chapter contains a graphic and disturbing rape scene. If this disturbs you please skip the scene and go to bold letter with the heading, 'Two days later'. It is not necessary to read the graphic section to understand the story. Also there is mention/depiction of an incestuous relationship. If this is not for you then, please, turn back now. You have been warned. Any flames.. will be used to start my fire place. All sincere criticism welcomed.   
FEEDBACK: [email removed]   
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